Idaho Man Convicted of Murder

NAMPA, Idaho (AP) — A 33-year-old Nampa man charged with forcing a man to dig his own grave before shooting him to death has been convicted of first-degree murder. The Idaho Press-Tribune reports jurors found Gregory Raymond Higgins Jr. guilty Friday for the August 2012 shooting death of 27-year-old James Groat of Nampa.

Prosecutors alleged Higgins and two others lured Groat to Lake Lowell last August for a drug deal. Investigators believe the men gave Groat a shovel, told him to dig his own grave and then shot him five times. Investigators say the shooting happened after Higgins mistakenly accused Groat of being a police informant.

Higgins' attorney argued Higgins was home that night, and prosecutors have no physical evidence — only his alleged accomplices' testimony — to place him at the scene of the crime.