March 9, 2010
By LARRY WELBORN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (California, USA)
SANTA ANA – A former Santa Ana apartment manager was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday for shooting a man to death after he allegedly lost hundreds of dollars in a Cambodian dice game.
Franco Edgar Neftali, 44, showed no reaction when his seven-woman, five-man jury also found that he used a gun to commit murder, a penalty enhancement that qualifies him for 50 years to life in prison at his sentencing on May 7 by Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly.
He was convicted of gunning down Son Neou, 67, on Jan. 11, 2007, in the Bishop Manor apartment complex about 15 minutes after he lost his stash in the illegal dice game.
Neou was one of the organizers of the dice game and was in charge of collecting the money, according to witnesses.
Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons said Neftali was unhappy about losing his bets and came back with a gun and shot Neou once between the eyes out of revenge, and then fled from the scene.
Witnesses testified they saw Neftali with a gun beforehand, but no one claimed they saw the actual shooting, Simmons said.
Deputy Alternate Defender Heather Moorehead argued that an unidentified man showed up at the game and fired the fatal shot.
Franco Edgar Neftali, 44, showed no reaction when his seven-woman, five-man jury also found that he used a gun to commit murder, a penalty enhancement that qualifies him for 50 years to life in prison at his sentencing on May 7 by Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly.
He was convicted of gunning down Son Neou, 67, on Jan. 11, 2007, in the Bishop Manor apartment complex about 15 minutes after he lost his stash in the illegal dice game.
Neou was one of the organizers of the dice game and was in charge of collecting the money, according to witnesses.
Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons said Neftali was unhappy about losing his bets and came back with a gun and shot Neou once between the eyes out of revenge, and then fled from the scene.
Witnesses testified they saw Neftali with a gun beforehand, but no one claimed they saw the actual shooting, Simmons said.
Deputy Alternate Defender Heather Moorehead argued that an unidentified man showed up at the game and fired the fatal shot.
2 comments:
Life in prison for the bastard! he deserved to be in jail the rest of his fucken life... it's called gambling, you win or lose is the games..? otherwise, do not play..?
U also pay with your life for cheating in the croket game. I hate that game and the people who play.
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