Gunman Found Guilty of Murdering 7 in Hawaii

A former Xerox copier repairman was convicted Tuesday of shooting seven co-workers to death in Hawaii’s worst mass killing.

A jury found Byran Uyesugi, 40, guilty of first-degree murder, which covers multiple killings, and attempted murder in the second degree for shooting at an eighth co-worker and missing.

The verdict means the jury believes Uyesugi was legally sane during his Nov. 2, 1999, shooting spree at a Xerox parts warehouse.

Uyesugi’s attorneys never disputed that he shot his co-workers but argued that their client suffers from a psychosis that made it impossible for him to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions that day.

Prosecutor Peter Carlisle acknowledged that Uyesugi suffers from a serious mental illness, but said he was aware his actions were wrong and killed out of anger.

Uyesugi will be sentenced on Aug. 8 to mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hawaii does not have the death penalty.

Uyesugi showed no emotion while the verdict was read.

“It was not an unexpected verdict,” defense attorney Jerel Fonseca said. “The insanity defense is difficult to prove. The insanity defense is difficult to buy.”

Uyesugi, a 15-year Xerox employee, fired a Glock 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun more than two dozen times at co-workers who had gathered for a meeting to discuss his light workload.

At least 28 bullet casings were found at the scene, authorities said. Uyesugi surrendered to police after a five-hour standoff.

Prosecutors argued that Uyesugi shot his co-workers out of vengeance, retaliation and anger--not insanity.