On Monday, the jury determined that Joseph Espinosa was responsible for the deadly shooting of Nick Kauls during a botched robbery in Fresno's Old Fig Garden area.
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Investigators believe Espinoza shot Kauls in the middle of a robbery spree where he tried to raise bail money for his friend, Jose Figueroa.
While witnesses gave different descriptions of the SUV involved in the shooting, investigators latched onto a common thread: multiple witnesses said it had paper plates.
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That led them to a stolen Toyota Highlander Espinoza was driving.
Kauls was a student at San Joaquin Memorial when he was shot and killed.
The first-degree murder conviction with the special circumstance that it was committed during the commission of a robbery attempt means Espinoza will serve life in prison without parole, but the judge will add time for the other convictions as well when he hands down the punishment in January.