Former Penn employee Frank Jeffs was convicted of first-degree murder Friday and now faces a probable life sentence.
Prosecuting attorney Carmen Lineberger said that Jeffs is guaranteed life in prison as a result of the conviction, but his sentence will not be determined until a May 15 hearing.
Jeffs, 52, worked at Penn until last June, when he confessed to shooting 28-year-old Robert Kerwood as he drove home in an apparent incident of road rage.
Jeffs' attorney, Scott Shields, said that an appeal is likely.
The former Penn employee testified that after Kerwood began waving a "shiny black object" -- which turned out to be his cell phone -- Jeffs fired several shots, one of which hit Kerwood in the face and killed him.
Shields said that Jeffs fled the scene after the shooting and later told his friends about it. They then tipped off the Philadelphia Police Department. Jeffs was arrested June 30, 2005.
Jeffs, who was a licensed weapon-holder, carried a gun for self-protection, Lineberger said.
She added that police found the weapon inside of a work boot in Jeffs' locker on Penn's campus. This is against University policy.
"Anyone who is found with a firearm on campus would be terminated immediately," Penn spokeswoman Lori Doyle said.
Lineberger said Jeff's decision to leave the gun at work in part proves his guilt, adding that if the gun were intended for self-defense, he would have kept it on his person.
"He was at home when the gun was in his locker," Lineberger said.
But Shields said Jeffs did not seem to be hiding the weapon and told police about it himself.
"If he had wanted to hide it, he would have thrown it in the river," he said.
Shields said that Jeffs' actions were justified because he was not the original aggressor and that he acted reasonably given the situation.
Lineberger said the the victim's family was very happy with Jeffs' conviction.
"Their lives can now go on, and hopefully they'll be able to get some closure," she said.
Shields said that he is shocked and disappointed by the verdict.
"Frank is a nice, peaceable man," he said, adding that many of Jeffs' acquaintances could not believe that he committed the crime.
