A San Diego jury has convicted a man of murder for fatally injuring a professional surfer with a punch during a scuffle.

Seth Cravens was convicted Tuesday and could face life in prison when he is sentenced in January.

The 22-year-old Cravens said he acted in self-defense when he punched Emery Kauanui (KOW’-ah-noo-ee) in May 2007.

The surfer suffered severe head trauma when he fell outside his mother’s home in the wealthy seaside community of La Jolla; he died a few days later.

An attorney for Cravens, Mary Ellen Attridge, declined to comment to reporters.

Prosecutors say the scuffle stemmed from a dispute that started at a bar.

Four other people initially were charged with murder but pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were sentenced in September to between 90 and 249 days in jail.

(Source: San Francisco Chronicle)

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