Fargo Man Convicted of Murder of Sartell Native

FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ A jury has convicted Ashley Hunter of murder and arson in the deaths of two people in Fargo.

Reports say the jury returned its verdict against Ashley Hunter on Friday afternoon. The Fargo man was charged in the hammer-beating death of 24-year-old Sam Traut and in the stabbing death of 45-year-old Clarence Flowers in 2015.

Authorities alleged that Hunter killed Flowers in a drug dispute. They say he killed Traut, who he didn't know, early the next day due to drug-fueled paranoia. Hunter also was charged with arson for allegedly trying to burn down the apartment where Traut lived.

Traut was a recent North Dakota State University engineering graduate from Sartell, Minnesota.