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Surrey man guilty of murdering roommate loses appeal

VANCOUVER - A Surrey man found guilty of murdering his roommate has lost an appeal of his conviction.Lester Oseguera was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2010 shooting death of his roommate, Jose Luna, inside a basement suite they shared with a couple of other men in Bolivar Heights.At trial Oseguera, originally from Honduras, claimed he shot Luna, a fellow house painter from El Salvador, by accident while high on crack cocaine. It happened on Aug. 30, 2010. Luna was shot in his neck and died of blood loss.Justice Catherine Wedge sentenced Oseguera in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver to the automatic life sentence for murder and set his parole application eligibility at 13 years. The defence asked for the 10-year minimum while the Crown argued for 15.Court of Appeal Justice Kathryn Neilson ruled against ordering a new trial "as there is no realistic possibility that this would produce a different result."Justices Ian Donald and David Harris concurred. A jury in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster also found Oseguera guilty of shooting at Surrey Mounties and at a woman who was visiting the house where Oseguera had been boarding.Tom Zytaruk



About the Author: Tom Zytaruk

I write unvarnished opinion columns and unbiased news reports for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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