EVERETT — At age 21, Areewa Saray faces a life locked behind bars.
A judge can hand him no other punishment.
A Snohomish County jury on Thursday convicted Saray of aggravated first-degree murder in the 2007 slayings of Linda Nguyen and her boyfriend Kevin Meas.
Nguyen, 20, and Meas, 24, were gunned down July 2, 2007 inside an Everett house, where they were paid to care for an elaborate indoor marijuana-growing operation.
Prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty for Saray. The only other sentence for an aggravated murder conviction is life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Tacoma man is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 13.
Saray showed little reaction on Thursday as the court clerk delivered the verdict.
His relatives, who sat through the weeklong trial, broke down in tears. His brother shook his head and left the courtroom.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutors Matthew Baldock and Edirin Okoloko spoke at length with jurors after Saray was led off in handcuffs.
“We’re convinced the jury was careful and thorough in their decision,” Baldock said. “We are pleased with the verdict. It’s the product of a thorough and complete investigation by the Everett Police Department.”
“Obviously the verdict won’t bring back Linda and Kevin, but it’s good that their families will know that justice was done today,” Okoloko said.
Defense attorney Stephen Garvey said that he plans to appeal the verdict.
“This is probably the fifth or sixth murder case I’ve had involving marijuana,” Garvey said. “It makes you wonder if keeping marijuana illegal is a good idea, but that’s not my decision.”
Nguyen and Meas moved from the East Coast to Everett to make money growing marijuana just a couple months before they were killed.
Investigators found about 750 marijuana plants, lights, fans, filters and an irrigation system inside the house on Dexter Avenue. They also discovered another 400 plants growing in a nearby house on E. Beech Street, according to documents.
Several people have been convicted of federal drug crimes connected to the pot farms.
The operations found in the Everett homes are similar to indoor pot farms in Canada, authorities said.
Prosecutors said Saray was drawn to the house by the prospect of making off with thousands of dollars in drug money. They also told jurors that Saray and co-defendant Sarouen Phai, 25, planned to kill the couple inside.
Nguyen was shot in the head and face as she opened the front door. Meas was gunned down in the basement.
Baldock called the killings executions.
Police later recovered two guns in the Puget Sound off a pier near Des Moines.
Phai also is charged with aggravated first-degree murder. He is scheduled to go to trial in March.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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