Man convicted for hammer death of Iraqi veteran Trevor Neiman

UPDATE

Man gets 81 years for veteran's murder


Man convicted for hammer death of Iraqi veteran

The Associated Press
Posted: 03/25/2011 11:32:47 PM PDT
Updated: 03/25/2011 11:33:09 PM PDT

VICTORVILLE, Calif.—A man accused of bludgeoning an Iraq War veteran to death with a hammer in an unprovoked attack was convicted of first-degree murder.

A San Bernardino County jury took about a half-hour this week to convict Johnny Acosta. The 46-year-old Hesperia man has two previous felony convictions and faces 81 years to life when he is sentenced on Tuesday. He was not eligible for the death penalty.
Acosta was convicted in the death of Trevor Neiman, 25.
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Man convicted for hammer death of Iraqi veteran

Iraq veteran is killed while installing cable TV
The former Marine, who survived three overseas tours, is fatally beaten with a hammer in Victorville in what authorities say was an unprovoked attack.
November 11, 2009
Nicole Santa Cruz and Richard Winton
As a Marine, Trevor Neiman survived three tours of duty in Iraq, where he patrolled the deadly streets of Fallouja and lost some of his best friends.

A knife attack at his Phelan home in May left the muscular man with a punctured lung, broken ribs and a ghastly head wound.

But that didn't stop him from following in his father's footsteps and becoming a cable TV installer. On Monday, Neiman, 25, went to a Victorville home. While he was inside, a man grabbed a hammer and fatally beat him.

"There was no exchange of words. There was nothing that occurred before the unprovoked attack," said Jody Miller, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Paramedics rushed Neiman to Victor Valley Community Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Authorities identified the alleged attacker as Johnny Acosta, 45, of Hesperia, a relative of the homeowners. Acosta fled the home after the 4:30 p.m. attack, but later surrendered to detectives without a struggle. He was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center. Acosta is scheduled to appear in a Victorville court Thursday.

The motive for the attack remains unclear, Miller said.
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Iraq veteran is killed while installing cable TV