Jury Finds Man Guilty in Beating Death : Courts: Anthony P. Antillia of Costa Mesa is convicted of first-degree murder for the Feb. 13 death of Jim Loy III.

A 28-year-old Costa Mesa man was found guilty Monday of handcuffing and binding a man, beating him to death and dumping his body in a trash can.

An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated about four hours before convicting Anthony P. Antillia of first-degree murder for the Feb. 13 death of Jim Loy III, 28, of Costa Mesa.

According to the prosecutor, Antillia killed Loy because Loy owed him money for a drug deal. Antillia also was angry because he had been arrested for receiving stolen car parts from Loy, the prosecutor said. Antillia had gone to jail for the crime, but Loy did not.

Testimony at the two-week trial revealed that Antillia handcuffed Loy, tied his feet and taped a plastic bag over his head. Antillia then beat him with a long metal object, the prosecutor said.

Loy’s body was left in a Garden Grove garbage bin.

“It was a vicious, brutal, tortuous slow death that borders on inhumanity,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Molko.

Police linked Antillia to the crime two days later from fingerprints left on the tape and from witnesses who said that Antillia had made previous threats against Loy.

During the trial, Antillia’s attorney said that his client was there when Loy was killed, but contended that another man who was under the influence of drugs did the beating, Molko said.

Defense attorney Tim Severin could not be reached for comment.

Antillia is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 14. He faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison.