Bill Paxton plays him in the movie.
Santa Ana – from www.ocregister.com – A Newport Beach man who killed a liquor store owner after being confronted about stealing a pornographic magazine was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years to life in prison.
Weston Scott Kruger, 31, was convicted in May of first-degree murder for the July 28, 2007 death of Hao Huynh, the longtime owner of Sportsman Liquor in Newport Beach.
At the time of the murder, Kruger was out of custody on bail for two unrelated felony cases involving domestic violence and residential burglary.
Kruger also pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony count of first-degree robbery, and will serve his three-year term concurrently with the murder sentence.
He still faces a jury trial in the domestic violence case.
Huynh and his wife were working at Sportsman Liquor on Newport Boulevard when Kruger approached the counter to buy a pack of cigarettes. Huynh saw the magazine partially hidden under Kruger’s shirt and followed him out of the store.
When Huynh attempted to get the magazine back, Kruger violently shoved him, sending him hurling to the ground where he landed on the back of his head.
Kruger picked up the magazine and briefly stood over Huynh with a clenched fist to make sure the liquor store owner didn’t get back up. He then fled the scene with the magazine.
Huynh, 52, who owned the store for 15 years, died the day after the attack from a fractured skull and massive bleeding in the brain.
The incident was captured on video surveillance. Kruger later was arrested after a witness in the parking lot who attended high school with Kruger recognized him, prosecutors said.
In the April 22, 2007 robbery, Kruger drove with a co-defendant, Sarah Elise Dymond, to the Aliso Viejo house of John Doe.
Dymond knew John Doe and had called earlier to make sure the victim was home. While Dymond waited in the car, Kruger knocked on the door of John Doe’s home wearing a dark Orange County Sheriff’s Department windbreaker.
When the victim opened the door, Kruger pointed a gun at the victim’s head, pretending to be a deputy, and ordered John Doe to lie on the ground. He went through the house and stole DVDs, jewelry and other personal items.
Dymond was convicted in March of one felony count of first-degree robbery and one felony count of first-degree residential burglary.
In the Aug. 25, 2006 domestic violence incident, Kruger allegedly became angry with his live-in girlfriend, Jane Doe. He is accused of kicking and breaking the leg of a futon, where Jane Doe was sitting, causing the victim to fall to the ground.
Kruger then allegedly put his foot on the victim’s neck and pushed down. Once Jane Doe was able to break free, he is accused of grabbing her and pushing her face into a bowl of wet dog food.
Kruger then allegedly took a metal pole and swung it at Jane Doe, hitting her on the arm as she tried to protect herself.
Kruger faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted of one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury, one felony count of aggravated assault, and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon.