VANCOUVER - A Surrey man found guilty of murdering his roommate must wait 13 years before he's eligible to apply for parole.

Lester Oseguera was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2010 shooting death of his roommate, Jose Luna, inside a basement suite they shared with a couple of other men in Bolivar Heights.

Justice Catherine Wedge sentenced Oseguera to the automatic life sentence for murder and in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Thursday set his parole application eligibility at 13 years. Defence lawyer David Tarnow asked for the 10-year minimum while Crown prosecutor Geoff Baragar argued for 15.

A jury in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster last month also found Oseguera guilty of shooting at Surrey Mounties and a woman who was visiting the house Oseguera was boarding at.

At trial Oseguera, originally from Honduras, claimed he shot Luna, a fellow house painter from El Salvador, by accident while high on crack cocaine. It happened on Aug. 30, 2010. Luna was shot in his neck and died of blood loss.

tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com