Everett man convicted of Randolph murder in 2021

An Everett man was convicted of shooting a rival while sitting in his parked car outside a homecoming football game.

A Middlesex Superior Court jury, after a three-week trial, found Michael Stanton, 22, guilty of second-degree murder for the Oct. 22, 2021, shooting of Craig McDonald Jr., of Randolph. He is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Woburn Court at 10 a.m.

A second defendant, Luiz Perlera, is scheduled to stand trial for murder on October 23 in the same court.

“This case is an example of the dangerous trend where young people illegally possess firearms and use them to perpetrate violence in our communities,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a written statement following the verdict. As hundreds of students, families and other spectators crowded around the stadium to celebrate an annual football tradition, the defendant brazenly found McDonald in that same area.

“When he found him, he used an illegally possessed firearm to end his life,” she continued. “It was truly a senseless tragedy. While nothing can alleviate the harm caused by this defendant, these prosecutions reflect our commitment to holding accountable those who commit these acts of violence.