A jury Tuesday found three San Diego men guilty of murder in the stabbing death of a Wildomar pastor's son outside a Temecula bar.
James Fung, Marvin Black and Matthew Basler all face 80 years to life in prison when they are sentenced in the death of Ryan Armstrong, 22, whose father leads the congregation at Cornerstone Community Church.
They were also found guilty of attempted murder in the stabbing of Armstrong's friend, Joel Ross.
The jury did not find the men guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, opting instead to convict the three on a simple assault charge each.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Angel Bermudez set sentencing for Jan. 11.
The verdict came after about four full and two partial days of deliberations, questions, readback of testimony and even a request to examine evidence.
Jurors indicated they had verdicts before the lunch recess, court records indicate.
The stabbings occurred outside ET's Sports Lounge in Temecula about 10:45 p.m. Dec. 26, 2008. Armstrong died at a hospital; Ross recovered from his wounds.
According to prosecution testimony, Armstrong was the peacemaker when an argument broke out earlier in the evening.
Witness testimony indicated that after things had seemingly settled down following an argument over a beer cup placed on a pool table, Armstrong was dragged to the back door by one or more of the defendants.
The defendants were thrown out but later drove around to the alley
The prosecution contends that the defendants jumped out of a truck and viciously attacked Armstrong and his friend.
The defense maintains that the defendants were swarmed by a large group and merely fought to free themselves of the melee.
Pastor Ron Armstrong of Cornerstone Community Church in Wildomar is Armstrong's father.
