A 25-year-old Wareham man was convicted of first degree murder and armed robbery in Brockton Superior Court on January 18 for a 2004 incident in which he and fellow Wareham resident Eric Pimental robbed and beat a 47-year-old man in the woods behind Commonwealth Avenue in Onset.

Robert Silva will serve a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole for the death of Thomas Loftus, and a concurrent sentence of four to five years in state prison for the armed robbery offense, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.

Pimental was convicted of the same charges in 2006.

Silva and Pimental encountered Loftus while walking through the wooded area, and beat and robbed him, according to the DA's office. Loftus' body was dragged deeper into the woods by Silva and Pimental, and was found by a man walking his dogs the next day. Loftus' belongings were found in the possession of the defendants shortly after the murder.

"This was a particularly brutal crime," District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in a statement. "The entire community is safer with this defendant off the street."

The jury deliberated for seven hours over the course of two days following the four-day trial. Cruz commended prosecutors, and the State Police, and Wareham Police for their work on the case.