An ex-con was found guilty Friday of fatally shooting a veteran UPS employee who was among three people who tried to stop him after he was seen rummaging around a parked car in Covina four days before Christmas in 2021.
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Jurors deliberated an hour before finding Trevor Howard Thompson, 37, guilty of first-degree murder for the Dec. 21, 2021, killing of 38-year-old Joey Manuel Casias, along with two counts each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Deputy District Attorney Phil Stirling.
The jury also found true the special circumstance allegation of murder to avoid arrest, along with gun allegations, Stirling said.
Thompson is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole, with sentencing set Jan. 31 in a Pomona courtroom.
Deputy District Attorney Michelle Weiske told the Pomona jury in opening statements earlier this month that ballistics evidence linked Thompson to the killing, while defense attorney Anthony Cavalluzzi countered that his client opened fire only after being punched and kneed.