Jury declares convicted Chino murderer sane

CHINO - A jury deliberated for about five hours before declaring Wednesday that a man convicted of murdering his cousin was sane during the 2008 shooting.

Miguel Ramos, 29, faces 50 years to life in prison when sentenced Sept. 8 for first-degree murder in Valentin Barria's death, said Deputy District Attorney Anil Kaushal.

According to prosecutors, Ramos blamed Barria, 25, for breaking up his marriage. He believed Barria had an affair with his wife and may have gotten her pregnant.

Prosecutors believe Ramos had his cousin's alleged affair in mind when he bought a revolver at a Pomona swap meet on May 5, 2008. Five days later, Ramos shot his cousin five times outside a party on Fifth Street in Chino.

The jury's verdict came after a six-day trial in Chino Superior Court to determine whether Ramos was sane at the time of the killing.

In the first phase of the trial - to determine whether Ramos was guilty of a crime - his attorneys argued that he should be convicted of second-degree murder rather than first-degree murder.