HOUSTON (AP) -- A con artist was convicted Monday of killing a rookie Houston firefighter by helping start a nightclub fire to cover up his check-fraud and identity-theft ring.
Jeremy Steven Robinson, 32, faces life in prison for murder in the death of Kevin Kulow in April 2004.
Robinson was one of four people charged in Kulow's death.
James Guevara was granted limited immunity and ordered to testify against Robinson, but refused to answer prosecutors' questions. He was charged with contempt and sent to jail.
Brian Michael Weiner, 24, made a plea deal that limits his sentence to 40 years or less. Weiner said he helped pour the gasoline used to fuel the blaze.
Robinson's girlfriend, Patricia Praker, 30, also made a deal for 10 years of probation. She said she knew of the arson plot.
Weiner and Praker testified at the trial, which resumes Tuesday with the sentencing phase in a Harris County state district court in Houston.
Prosecutors said the arson stemmed from a child custody fight in which Guevara's wife, a waitress at the El Festival Ballroom, threatened to tell police about Guevara and Robinson's scams.
Information from: Houston Chronicle
