Jury convicts Turlock man of '05 murder at Ceres home

A jury found a 30-year-old Turlock man guilty of first-degree murder Friday for the 2005 shooting death of Steven Glenn Brown.

Sean Benge also was convicted of a special circumstance -- lying in wait. It carries a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Another enhancement -- personal use of a firearm -- means Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Scott Steffen could add another maximum of 25 years to life to Benge's sentence.

"We're very pleased with the verdict," Assistant District Attorney Carol Shipley said Friday. She said sentencing has been set for Jan. 9.

Sean Benge's uncle, Jerry Benge, 49, of Turlock, also is charged in the slaying. Authorities claim he persuaded his nephew to kill Brown. Closing arguments in his case finished Friday and the jury began its deliberations. Shipley said deliberations in that case will resume Monday.

Deputy Public Defender Maureen Keller asked jurors to consider the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for Sean Benge. She said Jerry Benge persuaded him to beat up Brown, saying Brown abused his wife, Katherine. But, Keller said, the beating went "terribly wrong."

Jerry Benge is Steven Brown's cousin by marriage and testified he twice had sex with Katherine Brown.

Authorities say Sean Benge went into Brown's home, waited for him to arrive, then shot him.

Steven Brown was shot in his home outside Ceres, in the 6900 block of Crows Landing Road, in January 2005. Brown's 12-year-old daughter found her father's body minutes later when she got home from school.

Keller said her client, weakened by drug addiction and feeling indebted to his uncle, the only father figure he had known, was bullied into attacking Brown. In 2005, Sean Benge told investigators his uncle told him Brown was abusing his wife and that one of his beatings caused her to miscarry. According to the story, the baby she lost was Jerry Benge's. That story never was substantiated.

Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Matzger said Sean Benge stole a motorcycle to use for a few days, practiced with a shotgun just before the crime and carried the shotgun in a bag that fit the weapon. This preparation, she said, was proof of Benge's intent to kill.

The Benges are being tried in front of separate juries in the same courtroom. It's the first time this has been done in Stanislaus County.

Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.

This story was originally published November 14, 2008 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Jury convicts Turlock man of '05 murder at Ceres home."