Joshua S. Ferrell, 31, of the West Side maintained that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot 51-year-old Mario DiPenti after a fight that involved a dispute over a near accident. But a Franklin County Common Pleas Court jury disagreed Monday and convicted him of murder with a gun specification.

Minutes after fatally shooting a neighbor on a West Side street last year, Joshua S. Ferrell called 911 to report that he had acted in self-defense while in a fight.

Ferrell, 31, repeated that contention last week in a Franklin County courtroom during his trial in the May 2, 2018, death of 51-year-old Mario DiPenti.

On Monday, a jury deliberated most of the day before deciding that Ferrell's actions qualified as murder with a gun specification. He will be given a mandatory term of life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years when he is sentenced on a future day by Common Pleas Judge David Young.

Ferrell's wife and other relatives wept loudly in the hallway outside the courtroom after deputy sheriffs took Ferrell into custody.

In addition to hearing Ferrell's testimony, the jurors watched video of the shooting and a fistfight that preceded it. The video was from a neighbor's surveillance camera in the 3000 block of Westmoor Court.

Testimony established that Ferrell and DiPenti were involved in a dispute that had begun the previous evening, when their vehicles nearly collided in the neighborhood, which is just west of Valleyview.

Video from the following morning shows DiPenti driving by Ferrell's house and Ferrell running out to confront and argue with him. Several hours later, DiPenti is seen walking in the street near Ferrell's house, and Ferrell again goes outside to confront him. The two men are seen wrestling in the street.

With DiPenti on top, Ferrell pulled a handgun, warned DiPenti that he was armed, and placed the gun against DiPenti's head.

Ferrell testified that he fired once, and only after DiPenti refused to get off him and reached for the gun. The fatal shot struck DiPenti in the chest.

Defense attorney Mark C. Collins and Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Lenert disagreed during their closing arguments about whether the video shows DiPenti going for the gun.

Ferrell, who had no criminal record, was licensed to carry a concealed handgun.

jfutty@dispatch.com

@johnfutty