VAN NUYS : Pacoima Man Convicted of Killing Uncle With Shotgun

A Van Nuys Superior Court jury has convicted a Pacoima man of first-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of his uncle at a family-owned business.

The verdict against 22-year-old Asa Washington came after two days of deliberation in a case in which the key witness was a sound engineer for a rock band who said he saw Washington speeding away from the murder scene.

“It was a very difficult case for the jury, but they were able to sift through the evidence and come up with the right verdict,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said. “We only had one identification witness and he saw him from a distance and only from a profile. But he was positive we had the right guy.”

Burnett Washington, 57, of Pacoima was gunned down with two shotgun blasts Sept. 4, 1992, inside Washington Metal Polishing in North Hollywood. Asa Washington is scheduled to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge John Fisher on Sept. 17, when he could receive from 30 years to life in prison.