Crofton Businessman Convicted in Drug-Related Murder

A jury in Annapolis has convicted a Crofton businessman of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his associate in an alleged coast- to-coast marijuana trafficking operation, WTOP reports.

The Frederick News-Post reports that a jury convicted Michael Stahlnecker, 51, Wednesday after a three-week trial. Sentencing is set for May 6.

Prosecutors say Stahlnecker shot John Ryan, 37, of Frederick in the head and left his body in the trunk of Ryan's Lexus in Derwood in December 2012.

Stahlnecker owned Computer Power Cabling Corp. and Levitating Sports. Prosecutors produced evidence the men moved marijuana from California to Maryland by hiding it in shipments of electrical generators.

They say Stahlnecker killed Ryan for personal and financial reasons.

Defense attorney Steven Wrobel says the state's case was based solely on circumstantial evidence.