ROCKLAND (AP) – A Knox County jury deliberated only two hours Friday before finding a 32-year-old truck driver guilty of fatally shooting a woman two days after she ended their two-year affair.

Douglas Dyer of Friendship, who testified that last winter’s slaying of Allison Small was a tragic accident, was convicted of murder and attempted murder.

In his closing argument, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson likened the slaying to an execution and said it was preposterous to believe it was accidental.

But defense counsel Steven Peterson said Dyer was in love with Small and never would deliberately do anything to cause her harm.

The case was continued for sentencing. Murder is punishable by a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Dyer, who worked for a shipping company owned by Small and her husband, said Small had broken off their relationship but agreed to meet with him at her offices on Jan. 28, 2005. He brought a rifle intending to commit suicide in front of her, but she grabbed it and it discharged, hitting her, during a struggle, Dyer testified.

When Small ran out of the building, the rifle went off “accidentally” two more times, he said. In all, Small was struck by three bullets, including two in the back.

Benson contended that Dyer executed Small in a fit of jealous rage after breaking off their relationship. “You fired three accidental shots and every one of them hit Allison,” Benson said when questioning Dyer. “You shot her twice center mass. Was it bad luck?”

“If that’s what you call it,” Dyer replied.

Small and her husband, Brandon Small, owned Vinalhaven Transportation, a company in Rockland that transported food and supplies between the mainland and Vinalhaven, where the Smalls lived. Dyer worked for them as a truck driver and warehouse worker.

Testimony during the trial revealed that Dyer and Allison Small, 30, developed an intimate relationship several years earlier.

At least twice a week, they stayed together in motels or hotels and often slept together in a makeshift bedroom at the business, Dyer testified.

The two started talking about marriage, and Dyer got verbal approval for a mortgage on a home and bought Small an engagement ring, he said.

But two weeks before the shooting, Small confirmed her husband’s suspicions of the affair. Dyer testified that he reacted by attempting suicide by taking sleeping pills and drinking beer.

Two days before the shooting, he testified, Small handed him a letter in which she said she was breaking off the relationship. But she agreed to meet with him one last time.

On that day, Small came to the company’s office and told Dyer she loved him, he testified. He said he went out to his pickup truck, grabbed his gun, a bag full of personal items and a leather jacket she had given him.

“There was only one way I knew of that I could get out of that relationship,” he testified. “That’s when I decided I was going to end my life.”

Small tried to talk him out of shooting himself, removed her wedding ring and said they could go off and be together, he testified.

When she asked for one more kiss, he bent down and she grabbed the barrel of the rifle. The gun went off, he said, and she ran out the door. The gun discharged two more times but the shots were “accidental,” he testified.

Finally, he saw Brandon Small in the parking lot and fired what he called a “warning shot” in his direction.

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