after seven days, the jury decided the fate of mayor dixon and found her guilty of one of the five counts against her. it has been a long few weeks with deliberations lasting longer than the trial. breen keebler has been there since the very beginning. brian? >> reporter: the mayor was found guilty on one of the charges against her. it took some 40 hours to return a verdict that would dramatically change this city. after being found guilty of the fraudulent misproption of the fraudulent gift cards, mayor sheila dixon visibly fought back tears before addressing the crowd. >> what i would say to the city of baltimore is that the city will continue to move forward. we will continue to stay very focused. >> reporter: under whom, her attorneys did not answer, saying only all things are up for discussion. >> it is a sad day for the city. >> reporter: the prosecutor says this proves you can get a fair trial no mat other the defendant. >> i think the message is that there's nobody above the law and that everybody is to be treated equally. we tried to treat everybody in these investigations equally. >> reporter: the dixon jury said they had to put aside the fact that dixon is a mayor and judge the case at hand. >> i hope she can move forward on whatever decision she makes out of her life. >> reporter: how difficult was it? >> it was very difficult. nobody was on the same page at one point in time, but it was very, very hard to come to a decision. >> reporter: after six days and some 40 hours of deliberations, they did, convicting a sitting mayor, a mayor intent on serving for as long as the law will allow. >> reporter: are you going home? >> i'm going to city hall. >> thank you very much. [ applause ] >> reporter: it is unclear when the mayor will step down. the state constitution says immediately. the penalty is five years in prison. the state has not said whether or not they will seek prison time for this conviction. sentencing has yet to be scheduled. brian keebler, abc 2 news. >> let's do a quick recap. the jury has found her guilty of count number 4, that's misappropriation of gift cards donated by developer patrick turner. basically, that is embezzlement and is a misdemeanor crime. she was found not guilty of felony theft, and misconduct in office. just about an hour ago, mayor dixon released a written estimate. it says, "today i thank god nor the strength he has given me. i want to thank all of my staff, supporters and friends for the countless prayers and encroaching words." she goes on to say "i remain focused on keeping baltimore on course in these trying economic times." shortly after that guilty verdict was announced, governor martin o'mally released this statement. "this is a sad day for the people of baltimore. it is more important that everyone who cares about baltimore stays focused on reducing crimes it, and otherwise serving the people who live and work in baltimore. for the first time, we are hearing what jurors heard about the case. roosevelt leftwich is live from city hall with more from the jurors and others who closely followed the trial. >> reporter: after weeks of testimony, what it all boils down to at this point is what happens in the quart court of public opinion. the verdict was only out for moments when angry dixon supporters spoke out. >> then yesterday about 3:15, they said they were hung, couldn't make a decision. then later on a note came out saying they wanted to deliberate more. we don't want the mayor to step down because she is a great mayor. >> reporter: others say the jurors appeared cop fused about the charges and how to proceed, but the jurors say they were focused. >> i can only speak for myself. i have had my ups and downs like everybody else, and there were times i was emotional but it i got it together. >> we had a hard time. we had people who were in disagreement. it was very, very hard to come to a decision, but we did it and made it. >> reporter: so will the mayor step down? because of the nature of the charges and what happened, some folks still say no. they say the city still has many other, bigger problems. >> petty and just unnecessary. come on, we've got a murder rate through the roof, a serious drug and homeless problem, and we're talking about some gift cards. >> reporter: so what happens next? many people are thinking the mayor will have a hard time running the city where this conviction over her head. with her integrity in doubt, it will be hard for her to do her job. roorting live, roosevelt leftwich. >> stephanie rawlings blake says "my only goal right now is to continue doing my job making sure public safety is maintained. i'm urging everyone in the city government to do the same. we need to continue to protect the city. and she's moving on with business at city budget hearings going on right now. christian schaffer is there right now. i heard there was a rather some bear mood in the hearing. >> reporter: it absolutely is both because of the subject of the hearing and what happened a couple blocks away. right now, they are getting a briefing on the city's bleak financial picture. mayor sheila dixon isn't in the meeting. she wouldn't normally be here, so i can't say she's dodging it. almost the entire city counsell is here including the woman who would become mayor if mayor dixon were to step down. stephanie rollins blake did not speak with reporters on her way into the meeting, but we hope to speak with her on the way out. they are talking about new multimillion dollar projected short falls because of state aid and a rise in unemployment. the big question tonight is, do you think the mayor should step down? i spoke with with a number of them, and they say they are standing by her now. >> i trust her judgement. i trust the judgment of the city solicitor on what he's saying. i want what's best for the city. i know the mayor does, too, and and i trust she'll do that. >> reporter: the mayor feels that she can stay in office even after what happened today. i spoke with councilman craft. i said, you are an attorney, what do you think about the opinion of the mayor staying in office? he only said he had not had time to look at that opinion. christian schaffer, abc 2 news. we have a little bit of time looking at that opinion. bob, thank you so much for being here. we'll try to not get to mired in the legalese but at least look at what we've got. >> very good. >> there are two different rules. one is a state constitution, the other is a city charter. what do they say about the mayor staying or not staying in office? >> the city charter doesn't help that much. the constitution is where you have to look, i think. the constitution may have conflicts in it. article 15 pertains to the entire state. article 11 is specifically pertaining to the city. so what you have now is first the issue of what is a conviction? is it the tend of the jury determination or the end of the entire appeals process? and the second question is really whether the removal is ought mat irk or the governor has to make it. >> we put a call into the state attorney general's office. they are not making any movement on that front right now. i think they are waiting to see how this plays out. where do you think this could be settled? >> i think in the end if it's not resolved politically, it will be resolved in the court of appeals. the removal question is different from the 1860s provision that pertains to the city and the 1974 amendments that pertain to the state. the argument is you can't change the city provisions through a state-wide provision. >> if this were to go to court, would a statewide constitution override the city charter? >> definitely. the constitution has specific provisions dealing with the city of baltimore. that's article 11. article 11 may control that. it may be you have to make an amendment to article 11 before you can just -- >> so at this point, we don't know what's going to happen? >> no, wree don't. if not politically, it will be resolved in the courts. >> thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> we're not on tv talking about this case. we'll be updating the very latest on abc2news.com. there you can find several statements from officials and comments from you the viewer. we'll have that all on abc2news.com. coming up, a massive fire in anne arundel county claims the life of one man. how fire crews found a man's body many hours after the fire. and a man who police say killed four washington county police officers was dead tonight. why there were four more people arrested in those murders. right now, maryland's most powerful radar is a nice, clear scan out from. that will be changing by tomorrow. we'll have the complete forecast coming up in a couple of minutes. ♪ how long is she going to be living here? (mom) give her one of these... (announcer) cheerios, with one single gram of sugar... ahh... hey... (announcer) ...makes for a perfect beginning. maybe we'll keep her. (cheerios spilling) (announcer) how can something so little... ...help do something so big. a havre de grace man is dead after his pickup overturned on white marsh. police say harry lee fisher realized he missed the new belt ray ramp. he swerved across several lanes of traffic and hit the driver's side of a tractor-trailer. fisher's pickup spun out of control and overturned on the ramp and backed up traffic for hours. with the use of cadaver dogs, investigators have discovered remains of someone who died in a house fire last night. >> reporter: with some firefighters surveying from above and others sorting from the charred debris below, a specially trained dog named raven confirmed their fear that someone had perished in the fire. this morning, firefighters returned to the scene. tragically, i can now report that one victim, an adult has been located in the remains of the building. >> reporter: darkness had fallen when people from as far away as queen anne's county called 911 reporting the blaze. >> there was flames coming out of every window of the house. clearly something happened. i heard there were people that called 911 heard an explosion. within minutes, the house burst into flames. >> reporter: by the time the first fire engine arrived, the house was fully engulfed. the unidentified owner of the home is unaccounted for and neighbors say his truck remained parked outside when firefighters arrived on the scene. investigators have not determined what started the fire. >> we have not been able to confirm or evidence specifically reflecting that a major explosion occurred. there was a propane cylinder found on the back of the home. it's not known whether that's germaine to the investigation at this time. >> it will be up to the medical examiner's office before they can confirm who died in that blaze. the man wanted for gunning down four police officers in a ta qom ma coffee shop was shot dead today as another officer tried to arrest him. a lone patrolman tried to investigate a stolen car when he recognized maurice clemmons. >> just a feeling. another tragic time has come upon all of us. we're just glad this is over. >> four people have been arrested for helping him on the run, including his sister who nursed his wounds. six or seven more could be in custody by later tonight. here's chief meteorologist norm lewis and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> our live camera shot from glen burnie overlooking the airport. our temperature right now at bwi is 50 degrees. winds currently from the southeast at 6. here are your ties to fort mchenry. high tide comes at 6:34 in the evening. the winds tomorrow are from the east at 8 to 14 miles per hour. sun comes up at 7:08, will set at 4:43. 53 in hagerstown. already down to 37 in oakland. when you figure in the wind, got a little bit of a windchill out there even though the real temperature is 50 degrees. what we've been watching is a rapid, large storm system make its way out of the gulf of mexico. as we go through the overnight period, these clouds will move through the area and thicken and increase as the day goes along. that precipitation is moving quickly and will be here between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon tomorrow afternoon. right now, nothing's showing up on maryland's most powerful doppler radar. as far as what's going on across the area as far as our forecast is concerned, we're calling for clear skies tonight. the overnight lows won't be bad but the clouds will be thickening then the rain arrives. as you can see, it is a very fast mover. it looks like it will be out of here by early thursday morning. tonight, mostly clear, 39 degrees. during the day tomorrow, decent day. look for increasing clouds with afternoon to evening clouds. your extended outlook for the next seven days, there it is right there. look at saturday. rain during the day and a chance for a little bit of light know as we go to an overnight low of 30 degrees. temperatures will be on the cool side. back in a while with more in a moment. residential customers, bge will see a credit on their february power bill. the credit is part of the deal to improve their joint venture with french company eds. make believe turns into real trouble for one milwaukee man or woman. that criminal couldn't pull off the robbery. maybe they need to start offering drive-thousand service. how many times have cars plowed straight into this dry cleaner's? abc 2 news at 5:30 is just moments away. what's next for mayor dixon? can she survive? cash for your old cell phones? we'll tell you who's paying. and peta protesters, what they did this time to get attention. that's all new at 5:30. >> that got your attention, didn't it? news around the nation takes us to milwaukee where a popular crime show gave one criminal a not so good idea. johnmy bibbens dressed up as a woman to rob a bank. he was already on parole for two other robberies. it was deja vu all over again in phoenix after a car came barreling through this dry cleaner. the driver says her foot slipped after the brakes. the store's owner says the same thing happened in 2007 and again in 2008. they put up barriers so it wouldn't happen again, but apparently they weren't big enough. we're back at 5:30. it has never happened before. for the first time in baltimore's history, a sitting mayor is found guilty in a court of law. one guilty verdict, three others not guilty. the fate of sheila dixon is in limbo. we begin the live team coverage from the courthouse. brian? >> reporter: mayor sheila dixon was found guilty of just one charge of the foirve against her. it is not the felony in this case, but it is enough to force the mayor toe step down. the city is saying dixon has until sentencing until she must resign but the constitution says she must step down immediately. dixon says only that all things are being considered in that mat other. the judge declared a mistrial for the remaining counts. the state has until the end of the week to decide whether or not to retry dixon on the final charge while dixon's attorneys plan appeals for the other motions. as for the mayor herself, she returns to city hall. >> we have a trying budget hearing this afternoon. i know my cabinet and my staff and everyone who works to the betterment of this city will continue as i will be, to focus on what needs to happen. the citizens will feel sure and confident that we won't miss a step. >> there's nobody above the law, and that everybody is to be treated equally. we tried to treat everybody in all these investigations equally. >> reporter: the penalty for these convictions is five years in prison. the state has not decided whether or not it will seek prison time. sentencing has yet to be scheduled. brian keebler, abc 2 news. >> just