He shot his Pasco neighbor in the chest. A jury said it was murder

A Pasco man faces more time in prison than he’s been alive after being convicted Tuesday of killing his neighbor during an argument.

But the Franklin County Superior Court jury decided Victor A. Paniagua was guilty of a lesser charge of second-degree murder.

He originally was charged with first-degree murder for the execution-style killing of Abel Yanez Contreras.

Paniagua, 27, also was convicted of second-degree assault, tampering with a witness and illegal possession of a gun, along with firearm enhancements on the murder and assault.

He had been charged with a second count of witness tampering, but Judge Sam Swanberg dismissed that on Monday.

And the jury acquitted Paniagua of a second gun possession charge involving a .22-caliber rifle.

Jurors took a little over two hours to reach the verdicts.

Sentencing is tentatively set for Nov. 6.

Prosecutor Shawn Sant said the convicted killer faces 29 to 37 years in prison.

That includes five years for the gun enhancement on the murder, and three years for the assault enhancement. That time is mandatory and must be served in full before doing the rest of the sentence.

Sant said they’re waiting on a presentencing report to be done before deciding how much time to recommend.

He thanked Deputy Prosecutors Albert Lin and Lucas Downer for their handling of the trial, and Pasco police Detective Jon Davis and the rest of the department for their work on the investigation.

The murder case went to trial less than four months after the June 3 crime.

Paniagua was at the 502 S. 22nd Ave. home of Contreras when the two men got into an argument.

Paniagua cornered the 47-year-old Contreras in a bedroom and shot him in the chest, according to prosecutors.

The shooter then turned the 9mm handgun on Efren Bueno-Gonzalez — a handyman who was fixing the floors and tried to help Contreras — and threatened to kill him too.

Paniagua left the house and met up with his girlfriend.

While he only lived six houses away, he got a ride to the Tahitian Inn in Pasco to wash off the blood in a shower. That’s where police found him.

Security footage reportedly showed Paniagua and his girlfriend going into the motel wearing backpacks. Prosecutors said the murder weapon was in one of those packs.

A later search of Paniagua’s home turned up bullets that matched the ones used in Contreras’ death, according to prosecutors.

Paniagua did not testify at his trial.

His attorney, Karla Kane Hudson, argued that the case is filled with mismatched stories and that’s because witnesses are protecting the actual shooter.

Paniagua is being held in the Franklin County jail on $3 million bail.

His criminal history includes third-degree assault, attempting to elude police, bail jumping and drug possession.