Jury Finds Baltimore Officer Guilty of Assault in Shooting of Unarmed Man

A Baltimore police officer faces at least five years in prison after a jury convicted him Thursday of two charges in the shooting of an unarmed burglary suspect, reports the Baltimore Sun .

Jurors found Wesley Cagle, 46, guilty of first-degree assault and a handgun charge. Prosecutors said Cagle shot Michael Johansen in the groin as he lay in the doorway of an East Baltimore corner store — after two other officers already had shot Johansen. The two other officers who shot Johansen — Isiah Smith and Keven Leary — were cleared in the shooting and testified for the prosecution in the trial.

Cagle was acquitted of the more serious charges of attempted first- and second-degree murder in the shooting.

Police officials said Police Commissioner Kevin Davis would take "immediate action" to terminate Cagle's employment. He has been suspended without pay.

Cagle testified that he shot at Johansen because he saw a shiny object that could have been a weapon, but Harper said jurors did not believe him.