-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Angel Vega-Sanchez sits quietly in Webster County District Court Thursday afternoon as Judge Kurt Wilke reads the verdict in his trial. Vega-Sanchez was found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Rachelle Vega, on May 17, 2009.

The jury found Angel Dejesus Vega-Sanchez, of Fort Dodge, guilty of first-degree murder in Webster County late Thursday afternoon. After approximately three hours of deliberation, the District Court jury convicted Vega-Sanchez of the May 17 shooting of his wife. Vega-Sanchez, 29, shot Rachelle Vega, 42, four times while she was sitting on a couch at a home at 1323 Fifth Ave. S. Vega-Sanchez was stoic in his seat while the verdict was read. Vega’s mother and grandparents were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. Her mother, Georgia Ward, of Monument, Colo., cried. Defense attorneys had argued that the charge should have been voluntary manslaughter, rather than first-degree murder, because he acted in the heat of passion. Voluntary manslaughter is a Class C felony, punishable with 10 years in prison. First-degree murder, a Class A felony, means Vega-Sanchez faces life in prison without parole.