FONDA — A man already serving 18 years to life in prison for a 2021 murder on Central Avenue in Albany has been convicted of killing another person earlier that year in Amsterdam.

A Montgomery County jury deliberated for 40 minutes before convicting Naturalwise Joseph, 38, of second-degree murder Monday in the 2021 killing of Ricardo Lopez. Joseph was also found guilty of weapons charges, larceny and evidence tampering after a two-week trial in Montgomery County Court, District Attorney Christina Pearson said in a news release.

The murder charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors said Lopez was shot once in the back of the head before he was found in the roadway on Hibbard Street just before 1:30 a.m. on March 12, 2021.

Lopez received a call from Joseph in the early hours of March 12, according to prosecutors. During the trial, they said Lopez left his wife’s home with his phone and wallet but that his phone was missing when Lopez was discovered on Hibbard Street. A State Police investigator testified that both Lopez and Joseph’s phones traveled together before and after the shooting. Investigators used cellphone tower data and surveillance footage to place Joseph in various locations in Amsterdam before and after the killing, which proved critical to securing the conviction, prosecutors said.

“There were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, no firearm was recovered, no shell casing was recovered and no DNA evidence directly identified the shooter,” Pearson said. “Through relentless investigative work and the careful review of surveillance footage, investigators ultimately identified Joseph as the suspect.”

Joseph was already serving time in state prison for a different homicide when he was charged with Lopez’s killing. He had admitted to fatally shooting Lashon Turner on May 21, 2021, on Central Avenue. Under an agreement reached with prosecutors in 2022, Joseph agreed to serve a minimum of 18 years for the Turner killing.

Joseph is due to be sentenced by Judge Tatiana Coffinger on Sept. 29. The two murder sentences will run consecutively.

In their statement, prosecutors did not offer a motive for why Joseph killed Lopez.

Joseph’s attorney, Beau Melita, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.