Jury finds Dinh Bowman guilty of murdering Yancy Noll

A King County jury has found Thomasdinh “Dinh” Bowman guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Yancy Noll, a wine steward killed on his way home in August 2012.

Noll was driving home from the grocery store when he was shot in the head three times while sitting in traffic in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood.

Bowman showed little emotion in the courtroom as the verdict was read. He left court without comment as did Noll’s friends and family.

“His loss is deeply felt and the fear instilled in Seattle is unfair, but it’s lessened because of this verdict and we are very happy for that and we’re very happy that we got justice for him,” said senior deputy King County Prosecutor Kristin Richardson outside court.

There was no lesser charge for the jury to consider.

“That was Mr. Bowman’s decision,” said defense attorney John Henry Browne. “We give advice, he makes the decision.”

Jurors had been deliberating since Wednesday morning after closing arguments Tuesday afternoon.

Witnesses led police to Bowman, who lived near the scene of the shooting.

Police said Bowman changed out his tires, replaced a window in his silver BMW Z-4, and dismantled his gun.

A search of Bowman’s computer found large amounts of material about how to commit murder. The prosecutor claims journal entries show Bowman fantasized about being a hit man.

Browne called some of that material irrelevant and said he plans to appeal the conviction. Bowman testified for two days and the jury did not believe his claim that he shot Noll in self-defense during a road rage confrontation. The jury returned a special verdict, finding that Bowman used a firearm during the crime. He faces a sentence of between 25-35 years in prison.