Two men convicted in NC girl’s shooting death

RALEIGH — A Wake County jury has convicted two men in the shooting death of a 13-year-old girl last year.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that Rashaan Ali was convicted of murder and Ian Wattley was convicted of involuntary manslaughter late Monday afternoon.

Gelnirys Ortega died when she was shot in the head on May 1, 2007 in a home invasion in the apartment she shared with her mother and several other people.

Prosecutors said she was in the wrong place when a group of men rushed into the apartment looking to collect $60,000 that a man staying in the apartment owed for drugs.

Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour will sentence the men Nov. 20. Ali faces life in prison without parole. Wattley could face about 16 months in prison and would get credit for the year he’s been in jail.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)