Donny Hiramoto, a construction worker, acknowledged he was at Robert Lee's garage the night of Dec. 22, 2004 when the victim was shot in the head, but Hiramoto denied shooting Lee and blamed the murder on a man the defendant said he saw there.

The prosecution argued that Hiramoto owed Lee, a bookie, $15,000, including $8,000 in football bets, and the circumstantial evidence proved the defendant shot the victim.

The jury deliberated a total of a full day this week before rejecting the defense and also finding Hiramoto guilty of related firearm offenses.

Hiramoto now faces a prison term of 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced by Circuit Judge Steve Alm on July 17.