Gavin Smith, 57, a 20th Century Fox distribution executive is shown in this undated photograph released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. REUTERS/Courtesy Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department/Handout/File Photo

 

LOS ANGELES: A convicted drug dealer was found guilty on Monday of voluntary manslaughter in the death of a Hollywood studio executive who was missing for more than two years before his remains were found buried in the California desert.

John Lenzie Creech, 44, was convicted by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury after a two-week trial. The jurors had begun deliberating on Friday afternoon.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Creech attacked and beat Gavin Smith, 57, after finding his estranged wife in a car with the film distribution executive at 20th Century Fox.

A Los Angeles County public defender who represented Creech at trial, Irene Nunez, could not immediately be reached for comment following the verdict.

Local KNBC-TV reported that Nunez argued at trial that Smith had died during a violent, "tragic" fight between the two men and that there had been no intent on her client's part to kill.

Smith ? also known for playing on UCLA's 1975 national championship basketball team under celebrated coach John Wooden ? was reported missing on May 1, 2012, prompting police to issue a missing person bulletin and launch an exhaustive search.

The film studio issued a statement expressing concern about his disappearance, while family members posted a $20,000 reward, saying the 6-foot-6-inch (1.98-metre) ex-athlete with "movie star" looks should be easy to spot.

His son Evan Smith ? then a forward for the University of Southern California basketball team ? tweeted messages such as "I will not stop until I find my father."

Smith's black Mercedes-Benz was found in February 2013 at a storage facility in the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley.

In October 2014, hikers stumbled across a skull and other bones belonging to the missing studio executive in a shallow grave in the Angeles National Forest, 64 kilometres east of Los Angeles.

Creech, who was serving an eight-year prison term for sale of a controlled substance when he was arrested in connection with Smith's death, faces a maximum of 11 years behind bars for his conviction on the voluntary manslaughter charge.

He was ordered back to court on September 19 for sentencing.