A Savannah man Wednesday was convicted on multiple murder and related charges in the 2012 ambush slayings of two Savannahians that a prosecutor said created a "war zone" on the city's streets.

Walter Terry Moon, 35, was convicted on both malice and felony murder charges in the Labor Day slayings of Michael Biancosino, a 30-year-old aspiring lawyer, and Emily Pickels, a 21-year-old tour guide, he was taking home on Henry Street about 3:30 a.m. after dining at a Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurant on Bay Street.

The victims were gunned down in a barrage of 22 rounds fired from an AK-47 assault rifle as they sat in Biancosino's car. A Savannah-Chatham police witness, and Iraq war veteran, compared the shooting scene to a "war zone."

Moon had pleaded not guilty and declined to testify, telling Chatham County Superior Court Judge Penny Haas Freesemann, "I don't need to say nothing."

Jurors returned the verdicts to the 18-count indictment this morning after deliberations over the past two days failed to reach verdicts.

Freesemann will sentence Moon later. He remains in the Chatham County jail pending sentence.

Before trial, Moon rejected a plea offer of 20 years to serve on reduced counts of voluntary manslaughter plus 10 years, consecutive, on probation.

Murder carries a mandatory life prison sentence which may be without parole. The terms may be consecutive.

Freesemann told Moon before trial that if he was convicted on all counts he faced a total potential sentence of two life prison terms plus 55 years.

In her closing arguments on Monday, Assistant District Attorney Isabel Pauley told jurors that Moon was one half of the "killing team" that ambushed Biancosino and Pickels in a hail of 22 high-caliber, assault-rifle rounds in total disregard for the surrounding community.

"This was an onslaught," Pauley told jurors, calling the attack "an ambush, a surprise attack."

She compared the scene at David seafood on West Henry Street to "a war zone," telling jurors, "This is war. They've turned our streets into war zones.

"The violence is out of control, in our community. … They don't care. They make it hard to make them accountable, but they make mistakes."

The state's case against Moon was a "parties to a crime" prosecution - that any action by one of the killing team was equally to fault of the other even if there was only one trigger man.

"This man (Moon) is part of the killing team that took the lives of Emily and Michael on Sept. 1," Pauley told the jury.

But defense attorney Greg Crawford told jurors that prosecutors were trying to get them to dislike Moon, adding they were trying to "paint him as a bad guy."

"It's all about inflaming you and wanting you to do something about it," Crawford argued. "They have Walter indicted for everything under the sun."

"Walter Moon didn't shoot anybody," Crawford argued. "They want to put him in that car. They want you to think this was something involving Ron Allen."

Testimony showed that Moon and Sidney "Tre-4" Grant, 32, in a rented, silver Chevrolet Sonic, followed and attacked the victims as they sat in their car within 100 feet of Pickels' new home.

Grant, who the state identified as the gunman, ran from the parked car, firing repeatedly with an AK-47 assault weapon into the car holding Biancosino and Pickels before they attempted to flee.

The gunfire continued until Biancosino crashed his white Buick Riviera into a stone wall off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Pauley contended that Moon was driver of the Sonic, but knew what Grant was doing, telling jurors neither Moon nor Grant cared that they jeopardized residential neighborhoods.

Key to the prosecution's case was a "confession" by Moon to his friend Tarus Green that he was the driver of the Sonic and "Tre-4 pulled the trigger."

Green also testified that Moon told him the weapon was a "chopper," and that the victims ran from them.

Green, who faces trial on a separate murder indictment, at first balked at testifying after being brought into court from the Chatham County jail.

Freeseman instructed him to answer Pauley's questions and he folded.

Pauley also presented testimony from Ron Allen, who grudgingly admitted he was the likely target of Grant's rage.

Grant, who was a suspect in the slayings, was found shot to death on March 16, 2013, on Indian Street in front of Frozen Paradise.

Testimony showed Allen drove a white Buick Riviera almost identical to the one driven by Biancosino and frequented the area where the ambush occurred.

Evidence also showed that Allen and Michael Grant, Grant's brother, were best friends. When Michael Grant was killed, Allen testified that Sidney Grant "just felt like I ain't did nothing about it."

He conceded that Grant had "animosity" against him for not retaliating for his brother's death.

"In my gut, he was after me," Allen said of Sidney Grant. "In my gut it (the slaying) was intended for me."

Pauley also presented Moon's conviction in the July 10, 2005, aggravated assault on three victims in a parked car at 38th Street and Waters Avenue, also with 18 rounds fired from an AK-47 assault rifle in what she called an eerily similar scenario to the 2012 case.

In 2005 case, Moon was the shooter in a flap stemming from a quarrel over some pit-bulldog puppies.

The earlier conviction on Nov. 26, 2007, was key to a charge against Moon for felony murder during the commission of a forcible felony. Pauley also is using the conviction as part of her presentation of prior conduct by the defendant.

What the jury convicted Moon on by counts:

1- Malice murder by fatally shooting Emily Pickels

2 - Malice murder by fatally shooting Michael Biancosino

3 - Felony murder by causing Pickels' death while committing aggravated assault by shooting her

4 - Felony murder by causing Biancosino's death while committing aggravated assault by shooting him

5- Felony murder by causing Pickels' death while in possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

6- Felony murder by causing Biancosino's death while in the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

7- Possession of a firearm -a rifle- during the commission of a felony in Pickels' death

8 - Possession of firearm -a rifle - during the commission of a felony in Biancosino's death

9 - Aggravated assault on Pickels with a deadly weapon

10 - Aggravated assault on Biancosino with a deadly weapon

11 - Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony during the commission of an aggravated assault on Pickels

12 - Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony of aggravated assault on Biancosino

13 - Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. This charge was separated for a separate trial or disposition.

14 - Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon during a crime by having a rifle despite a previous conviction for aggravated assault in the Pickels slaying

15 - Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon during a crime by having a rifle despite a previous conviction for aggravated assault in the Biancosino slaying

16- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon by possessing a Norino SKS rifle on Sept, 7, 2012, after being convicted of a forcible felony of aggravated assault in Chatham County Superior Court

17- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon by possessing a GP-WASR 10/63 rifle on Sept. 7, 2012, after being convicted of a forcible felony of aggravated assault in Chatham County Superior Court

18- Attempt to obtain a firearm by a convicted felon on Sept. 6, 2012, by attempting to purchase an AK-47 rifle despite his conviction of a forcible felony of aggravated assault in Chatham County Superior Court.