ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A jury found an Albuquerque man guilty of killing 61-year-old Daniel Bourne.

Bourne was working as a security guard at a local church at the time of his death. He was also a former firefighter.

On Wednesday, prosecutors tried convincing the jury that Marc Ward deliberately killed Bourne September 2022.

The defense argued that the evidence presented isn’t enough to prove that.

Ward is accused of running over Bourne as he was doing his rounds at the Calvary Church parking lot. Ward then allegedly dragged Bourne’s body into an arroyo.

There is no video showing what happened when Bourne died, and there’s no video or pictures showing who was behind the wheel.

But the state did present audio captured by Bourne in his last moments. They also showed pictures of the scene.

State Prosecutor Savannah Skye Brandenburg-Koch said Bourne was doing his rounds in the lot, when he flashed a flashlight at Ward – which, she says, set him off.

“The defendant was so bothered and curious that he took several steps to kill Dan Bourne, and then move his body and leave him in the parking lot next to the Arroyo like he was a piece of trash,” said Brandenburg-Koch.

The defense argued the state was lacking evidence. What they did have wasn’t enough to prove murder, instead of an accident that happened that night.

“If you come to this, from the position of presumption of innocence, and not a confirmation bias, I think you will find the question being is there reasonable doubt? The answer is yes, indeed there is,” said Maxwell Hatton Pines, Ward’s attorney. 

The jury found Ward guilty of first-degree murder. The next step will be sentencing.

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• Trial begins for Albuquerque man accused of murdering church security guard