Reading homicide, Matthew Perkins, suspect guilty of murder

A man accused of killing two people and wounding another at a party in 2011 has been found guilty of murder.

Matthew Perkins was found guilty of two counts of 3rd degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of an instrument of a crime and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.

He was not found guilty of 1st degree murder.

Prosecution and defense attorneys presented their closing arguments Friday.

Perkins, prosecutors said showed up uninvited to a party on Heckman's Court in Reading on July 30, 2011, and opened fire.

One of the three shooting victims, Cesar Rivera, died at the scene; another, Juan Perez Pimentel, died a few months later.

Perkins, then 17, was arrested in Florida a little more than a week after the shootings.