Johnny Cash once sang that he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, but a man in Gardena, Calif., is guilty of killing a guy who laughed at him because of the way he ate a sandwich.
Ronald Eugene Murray II, 26, was found guilty on Monday of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Mun Jang, who he punched and kicked on Oct. 1, 2011 so severely that Jang died two days later in a hospital, the Daily Breeze reported.
The attack occurred after Murray purchased a pastrami sandwich at a restaurant called Donut King. When he took his first bite, some of the meat fell out and Jang laughed at him, according to the Associated Press.
That angered Murray, who snapped, "Who you laughing at?" He became even more upset when the clerk behind the glass refused his request for another sandwich at half-price, according to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Turk.
"The real focus of his anger were the people who would not give him a sandwich," Turk said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. "The only person he could take his rage out on was the victim."
Prosecutors said Murray sucker-punched Jang and hit him repeatedly, then threw the sandwich so hard at Jang's head that mayonnaise and lettuce stuck in his ear, NewJerseyNewsroom.com reported.
Murray testified that he acted in self-defense and claimed that after slipping on the pastrami, he fell to the floor and saw Jang standing over him with clenched fists, UPI.com reported.
Murray is facing a maximum of 11 years in prison and will be sentenced on March 4, according to the San Jose Mercury News.