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A 62-year-old Yuba County man is facing life in prison after jurors found him guilty Thursday of second-degree murder.
Billy David Mulkey shot neighbor Keith Hendricks at point-blank range at Mulkey's mountaintop home in July 2008. Hendricks, 55, a friend for more than 20 years, had gone there to complain about a pack of Mulkey's dogs running loose.
Three Yuba County Superior Court bailiffs gathered around Mulkey, who appeared agitated when the verdict was read.
"I'm just overwhelmed," said Hendricks' sister, Phyllis Kinstler of Yuba City, after the verdict. "I'm just glad it's over."
Kinstler said she has known Mulkey for years and always thought he "was not all there."
Mulkey testified during the trial that he cared for an "archduchess of Austria" while living in Sutter during the 1990s and that they were under government surveillance 24 hours a day for nine years. He moved to his mountain home near Brownsville because he was being persecuted, he said.
Mulkey was judged mentally competent to stand trial.
A penalty enhancement for using a gun to commit second-degree murder means Mulkey is facing a 25-year-to-life sentence, said Deputy District Attorney Mechele Cook.
"Given his age, it's life," she said.
During the trial, Mulkey referred to his 14 dogs as his "beautiful, wonderful babies."
Hendricks' wife testified that Hendricks was so angry when told that the dogs were again roaming in a pack that he jumped in his truck and, wearing only boxer shorts and flip-flops, drove to Mulkey's residence.
Mulkey testified that he and Hendricks, who share Native American ancestry, greeted each other with a gesture of peace — raised right hands.
But Mulkey later said Hendricks apparently was holding a weapon, had an angry look in eyes and swung at him just before the gun discharged. Hendricks was shot once in the chest and once in the back.
Mulkey said tried putting the body in Hendricks' truck to keep it away from the dogs but was unable to lift it. He put the body in a wheelbarrow, which he covered with a tarp.
Neighbors said Mulkey then drove Hendricks' truck down the mountain with a towel covering his face so he wouldn't be recognized. They said Mulkey pointed a shotgun at them when they went to his home in search of Hendricks.
The six-man, six-woman jury, which deliberated Wednesday afternoon and for an hour Thursday, found Mulkey not guilty of assaulting the three neighbors with a shotgun.
Mulkey was married shortly before the incident to a South American woman who was at his residence at the time of the shooting. Shortly afterward, she returned to Phoenix where the two had met and was not present for the trial, said Cook.
Visiting Judge R.M. Smith set sentencing for Nov. 10.
Contact Marysville Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.
Billy David Mulkey shot neighbor Keith Hendricks at point-blank range at Mulkey's mountaintop home in July 2008. Hendricks, 55, a friend for more than 20 years, had gone there to complain about a pack of Mulkey's dogs running loose.
Three Yuba County Superior Court bailiffs gathered around Mulkey, who appeared agitated when the verdict was read.
"I'm just overwhelmed," said Hendricks' sister, Phyllis Kinstler of Yuba City, after the verdict. "I'm just glad it's over."
Kinstler said she has known Mulkey for years and always thought he "was not all there."
Mulkey testified during the trial that he cared for an "archduchess of Austria" while living in Sutter during the 1990s and that they were under government surveillance 24 hours a day for nine years. He moved to his mountain home near Brownsville because he was being persecuted, he said.
Mulkey was judged mentally competent to stand trial.
A penalty enhancement for using a gun to commit second-degree murder means Mulkey is facing a 25-year-to-life sentence, said Deputy District Attorney Mechele Cook.
"Given his age, it's life," she said.
During the trial, Mulkey referred to his 14 dogs as his "beautiful, wonderful babies."
Hendricks' wife testified that Hendricks was so angry when told that the dogs were again roaming in a pack that he jumped in his truck and, wearing only boxer shorts and flip-flops, drove to Mulkey's residence.
Mulkey testified that he and Hendricks, who share Native American ancestry, greeted each other with a gesture of peace — raised right hands.
But Mulkey later said Hendricks apparently was holding a weapon, had an angry look in eyes and swung at him just before the gun discharged. Hendricks was shot once in the chest and once in the back.
Mulkey said tried putting the body in Hendricks' truck to keep it away from the dogs but was unable to lift it. He put the body in a wheelbarrow, which he covered with a tarp.
Neighbors said Mulkey then drove Hendricks' truck down the mountain with a towel covering his face so he wouldn't be recognized. They said Mulkey pointed a shotgun at them when they went to his home in search of Hendricks.
The six-man, six-woman jury, which deliberated Wednesday afternoon and for an hour Thursday, found Mulkey not guilty of assaulting the three neighbors with a shotgun.
Mulkey was married shortly before the incident to a South American woman who was at his residence at the time of the shooting. Shortly afterward, she returned to Phoenix where the two had met and was not present for the trial, said Cook.
Visiting Judge R.M. Smith set sentencing for Nov. 10.
Contact Marysville Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.
