The young man's death "is not a whodunit," the prosecutor told a Lancaster County jury this morning.

Dileef Strickland, on trial for killing Donte Hammond on the afternoon of May 7, 2007, on Juniata Street, freely admits he shot him.

The question, the jury was asked this morning, is what Strickland was thinking at the time of the shooting.

Was it, as his defense attorney said, the impulsive act of a then-19-year-old Strickland, fearing that Hammond was going to get a gun and kill him?

A belief that would support a verdict of voluntary manslaughter, defense attorney Christopher Lyden said.

Or was it, as the prosecutor suggested, an intentional act of shooting the 21-year-old Hammond, who had disrespected him and allegedly cheated him in a drug deal?

A state of mind that can only result in a verdict of first-degree murder, Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman said.

The jury was expected to begin its deliberations late this morning after listening to closing arguments from both attorneys and instructions in the law from Judge Dennis Reinaker.

"Donte Hammond robbed Dileef and Dileef decided he was going to stand up to this guy, stand up to this bully," Lyden told the jury.

"He's a 19-year-old kid who got in way over his head and he did a terrible thing," Lyden said.

"In that sense, it's a simple case," Lyden said.

Strickland took the witness stand on Wednesday and told the jury that Hammond had robbed him at gunpoint the month before.

On that day, as Strickland and his friend, Michael Scott, drove down the 100 block of Juniata Street, he saw Hammond.

Strickland said he went to his Poplar Street home, got his gun and returned, confronting Hammond to get his money back.

Hammond turned to walk away and Strickland shot him four times in the back, accidentally shooting a 3-year-old girl in the arm as well.

This morning, Lyden told the jury that Hammond told his client he was going to get his gun and Strickland's act was impulsive, based on the "serious provocation," that he was going to be shot.

"What might go through a 19-year-old's mind? Fear? Anger? Resentment? It was an irrational, terrible act," Lyden said, supporting a verdict of voluntary manslaughter.

Fetterman told the jury that he agrees it is a simple case — a simple case that supports a verdict of first-degree murder.

Strickland was already angry at Hammond when he drove by and saw him on the street that day.

"That's why murders happen," Fetterman said. "Revenge. Retaliation. Love and money."

"Who did Donte Hammond provoke?" Fetterman asked. "Who was driving by in his car?"

It was Strickland, Fetterman said, who made the decision to go right home, get his gun and immediately return to the scene.

"He wanted to make sure Donte was still there...He wanted to fight. He's the one who provoked it."

Fetterman said Strickland testified that he didn't know he had shot Hammond.

"So what'd he do, he kept shooting.

"This man went down to the street corner with murder on his mind," Fetterman told the jury.

And this case, Fetterman said, "is intentional as it gets."

Should the jurors agree with Fetterman and return a verdict of first-degree murder, they will then be asked to decide whether the sentence should be life in prison or death.

Staff writer Janet Kelley can be reached at jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026.