TRAVIS PARKER A Cherokee County prosecutor invoked William Shakespeare to hammer home a key point during Travis Sentell Parker's murder trial Wednesday.

It didn't really matter if Parker was better known by his given name or nickname, Assistant Seventh Circuit Solicitor Michael Morin told a jury of seven men and five women in responding to defense claims that a murder victim had fingered the wrong man before he died.

"There's a saying that a rose by any other name is still a rose," Morin told the jury. "Travis Parker, by any other name, is still the person who killed Maraine Foote."

The jury deliberated for about an hour before finding Parker, 28, of Blacksburg, guilty of murder for killing Foote during a June 22, 2007 drive-by shooting that occurred near Marion Avenue and Sarratt Street in Gaffney.

Circuit Judge Roger Couch subsequently sentenced Parker to life imprisonment, a sentence almost guaranteed by the conviction and Parker's prior criminal history, which includes a 1997 conviction for the manslaughter of a 17-yearold girl, for which he served eight years of a 10-year prison sentence.

While Parker contended he had nothing to do with Foote's death and claimed he was being set up, Morin argued the jury had all of the information it needed in three eyewitnesses, including Foote himself.

Before he died from the gunshot wound to his stomach, which damaged his liver, Foote first identified his killer as "Parker" and "Parker from Blacksburg" and subsequently confirmed it was "Travis Parker" when asked again. The initial identification was captured on a tape recording of a Cherokee County 911 emergency call, which was played for the jury, while police and paramedics attested to Foote's statements from the witness stand.

Parker's defense attorney claimed Foote only knew Parker by his nickname, "Dick," and that Foote's dying declaration was tainted because the name was suggested by police.

Two other witnesses in the car with Parker, Nicole Thompson and Jarvis Thompson, who are not related, both said Parker was the shooter.

Nicole Thompson testified Monday that she had given Parker a ride to Gaffney on June 22, 2007, and that she saw him hanging out the window of her car with a gun after he directed her to make a turn onto the street where the shooting took place.

After she heard shots fired, she said she demanded to know if Parker had shot someone. She claimed he replied, "If I didn't, I'll be back."

She said she went directly to police after she dropped Parker off back in Blacksburg.

Parker, who testified in his own defense, claimed he was not with Nicole Thompson when the incident occurred. He claimed Nicole Thompson and Jarvis Thompson were together when they picked him up from a Gaffney barbershop, where Nicole Thompson had dropped him off earlier in the day.

Public Defender Tom Shealy called two young women to the stand, both of whom claimed they heard Jarvis Thompson admit responsibility for the shooting. One of the women claimed Jarvis Thompson had told her so, even though it was the first time they had ever spoken.

Jarvis Thompson denied ever saying anything to either of the young women, and flatly denied any responsibility. Morin pointed out to the jury that both of those young women had ties to Parker, even if indirectly.

Parker maintained his innocence during his sentencing and vowed to appeal.