Raul E. Herrera, 22, was found guilty Tuesday of the kidnapping and first-degree murder of 46-year-old Jeffrey Dyer this past November.
The jury deliberated for about three and a half hours before reaching its verdict, Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker said.
Herrera also was found guilty of beating up Dyer’s father and stealing meat, drugs, electronics and a sword from the Dyers’ home in the 1100 block of West Dakota Avenue, Nampa. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 25.
Nampa police began investigating Herrera and co-defendant Angelo Cervantes, 22, after receiving a tip that the pair talked about killing Dyer because he failed to obtain prescription drugs that Herrera planned to turn around and sell on the black market. The pair reportedly also were mad because Dyer was disrespectful when he drove past Herrera’s home.
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Cervantes, also from Nampa, pleaded guilty in May to first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and aggravated assault. No sentencing date has been set, but an unspecified “further proceeding” is scheduled for July 28.
Probable cause affidavits filed in the case indicated the assailants believed Dyer was dead when they stuffed him into the trunk of his white 1995 Cadillac and took him to a strip-mall parking lot in Ontario on Nov. 8. The car and Dyer's body were discovered the next day.
An autopsy showed Dyer died of blunt-force trauma, including severe head injury.
According to officers’ affidavits, Cervantes confessed to participating in the crimes but said it was Herrera who beat Dyer with a collapsible baton, delivering the fatal blows. Herrera initially denied any knowledge of Dyer or the crimes, according to the documents, and when police pressed him during questioning he complained of tightness in his chest and vomited several times.
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