David Froste, 27, of Knights Landing, was found guilty of murdering two Yolo County teens in 2016.
A jury deliberated for days to reach its verdict.
Froste is one of the men charged in the murders of Elijah Moore and Enrique Rios, two teens who went missing in 2016.
Enrique Rios, 16, and Elijah Moore, 17, who were classmates and friends, vanished two years ago, and investigators believe Froste and three other defendants kidnapped and killed them. The motive was retaliation at Moore, who stole $300 worth of cannabis from David Froste.
The prosecution’s case, which lacks physical evidence tying Froste to the crime, is based on incriminating statements by David Froste and co-defendants Jonathan Froste, Jesus Campos and Chandale Shannon Jr., according to Davis Enterprise reports. Social media activity and cell phone data was put into evidence to show their locations and movements during the teens last known appearances.
Yolo County Prosecutor Jay Linden described David Froste as the ring-leader of the group, a description disputed by his lawyer, Martha Sequeira.
Investigators said after Moore robbed David Froste, the co-defendants took Rios to a remote area in Knight’s Landing and tried to persuade Rios to lead them to Moore, and when he wouldn't, David Froste shot him to death, according to previous ABC10 reports. The foursome finally caught up with Moore at a Woodland shopping center, grabbed him and took him to the place where his friend was killed.
Moore was bludgeoned with tree branches and then shot to death before being buried next to Rios.
Many searches of the area, which is heavily overgrown, failed to find any trace of the teens’ bodies.
Jonathan Froste, David’s brother, pleaded no contest to second degree murder in exchange for his testimony. Campos and Shannon have not been tried yet.
Editor's Note: The name of prosecutor Jay Linden was incorrect in a previous version of this article. It s Jay, not David. The same version incorrectly stated that Campos and Shannon had also reached plea agreements. They have not.