Indian origin man faces 45 yrs in jail for killing employer

SILICON VALLEY: A 24-year-old Indian-origin man is facing 45 years in prison after being convicted of killing his former employer at his orchard in US' California state in May last year.
    
A jury convicted Bikkar Singh of second degree murder, a lesser charge than the first-degree verdict originally sought by prosecutors.
    
Singh will face at least 45 years in prison because of the weapon enhancements associated with the charges.
   
Singh was found guilty of murdering his boss, 64-year-old pistachio farmer Gian Singh Heer, in May 2006 at Heer's orchard in Yolo County by shooting him three times with his own shotgun. Singh worked and lived on the property.

Singh maintained throughout the trial that he shot Heer in self-defence after wrestling the gun away from Heer who was trying to shoot him following an argument between the two.
    
However, juror said this week they didn't buy the self-defense theory as Singh has said he was thirty feet away from Heer at the time he shot him - a distance, in their minds, that didn't equate to imminent danger.
    
Heer's family members and friends in the Sikh community who were in attendance praised the verdict.
    
Defence attorney Philip Cozens, who represented Singh, called the decision a "compromise" verdict. He said an appeal will be filed and he felt there wasn't enough evidence in the case to support the verdict.
    
"Usually reasonable doubt benefits the defendant," Couzen said. "In this case, it went to the prosecution."
   
Singh will be sentence on Jan 15, 2008.