Jury deliberations began Thursday in the murder trial of a man already in prison for his part in the 2007 shoot out in a Middletown housing complex.

Gabriel Smith, 33, is back in a Butler County court room for his second trial in the shooting of DeMarco Conley. Smith was convicted in 2008 of felonious assault and is serving a 21-year sentence for that crime. He now faces an additional 28 years to life if convicted for murder.

Conley, 26, died in Pittsburgh in December 2011 after years of surgeries to try to correct the damage from a single gunshot to the stomach. A Butler County grand jury indicted Smith, Shadeed Barnett and Teray Marshall last year for murder.

Barnett and Marshall pleaded guilty Friday morning to the murder charge and were sentenced to 15 years to life by Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage. In exchange for the plea, the gun specification, which adds an additional three years to the sentence, was dropped.

During closing arguments, Assistant Prosecutor Josh Muennich told the jury Smith aided and abetted his friends during the early morning hours of Sept. 19 when he drove a blue Ford Taurus to the Townhomes West apartments off Main Street following a fight at the former Grand Illusion Bar on Grand Avenue.

“The defendant went down there with his friends, they were interested in a war zone. They were interested in shooting,” Muennich said.

Conley and his friends had also gathered at the housing complex for a fight. Muennich said they brought their fists, while Smith and his friends brought guns.

Smith circled the complex, trapping Conley and his group in for the the mass shootings, Muennich said.

“The vehicle is going right around the war zone, the killing field. Making sure nobody gets out,” Muennich said, noting witnesses said they saw Smith behind the wheel and shots coming from the passenger side. “The fatal shot may not have come from his hand, but he is responsible. He’s the wheel man.”

Muennich also pointed to the testimony of Pennsylvania medical examiner Dr. Abdulrezak Shakir, who testified about an autopsy performed on Conley. The forensic pathologist said Conley died of complications from the gunshot wound he suffered in 2007.

Defense attorney Patrick Mulligan questioned if the gunshot was actually the cause of Conley’s death, noting medical records indicate Conley underwent an intestine transplant then developed complications in 2011.

“After four or five years and a bunch of (medical) choices, I am not sure you can get to the point that felonious assault caused the death,” Mulligan told the jury. “DeMarco Conley was permanently injured. But that is felonious assault, not murder.”

Mulligan also questioned the credibility of the witnesses who were vague about their testimony five years after the fact.

The jury had not reached a verdict by press deadline. For updates on this story, visit www.MiddletownJournal.com or www.Journal-News.com.