Two of three men who abducted, severely beat and fatally shot an Anza man because they believed he might snitch on them for perpetrating thefts at marijuana grows were both convicted this week of first-degree murder.

George Frank Holley Jr., 42, of Oklahoma City and Nico Manuel Zahir, 30, of Anza conspired in the slaying of 42-year-old Brian Messina in 2020.

Separate juries heard their cases at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta over a nearly monthlong period. On Monday, June 2, Holley’s jury found him guilty of the murder count, firearm assault and a special circumstance allegation of killing in the course of a kidnapping. On Thursday, Zahir’s jury convicted him of the murder count, along with firearm assault, false imprisonment, the special-circumstance allegation and sentence-en

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