GILBERT, Ariz. — A jury has convicted the man accused of breaking into a Gilbert veteran's home in 2020 and killing him.
Jacob Samia, 35, was found guilty last month of murdering 73-year-old Frank Bernal in October 2020, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. He was recently sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 11, Samia broke the window of a vape shop near Cooper and Warner roads before walking several blocks east to break into Bernal's home.
Once inside, the suspect beat and strangled Bernal before walking into another neighborhood. Bernal initially survived the attack before succumbing to his injuries a few days later.
Bernal was a descendant of a founding family of Gilbert and graduated from North High School in 1964. He later received a Purple Heart medal in Vietnam.
During the defendant's trial, the jury determined prosecutors had proven that Bernal's murder was committed in a "brutal, vicious, or violent manner."
The defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and burglary.
Samia's scheduled to be sentenced next month.
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