Judge Rules Millbrae Man Found Guilty of Murder was Sane

The man who was convicted for shooting his friend in Millbrae was found sane at the time of the 2008 murder, according to a judge ruling on Thursday.

A jury on Tuesday found Teyseer Zaid Najdawi, 28, guilty of first-degree murder for gunning down his friend Jack Chu 11 times with a semi-automatic handgun in a car near Lincoln Circle in Millbrae.

Chu's body was found two days later in the passenger seat of the car, which Najdawi had driven two miles away and abandoned on a street in Burlingame. He then fled to Northern California where he was apprehended by a SWAT team.

Najdawi was also convicted of attempted murder for chocking his cellmate while in county jail two months after he was arrested. He was sent to a state mental hospital after the attack, and Najdawi’s sanity has been a recurring issue throughout the trail.

However, Deputy District Attorney Al Giannini argued that the killing was fueled by alcohol, prescription pills and Najdawi's inherent tendency toward belligerence, rather than insanity.

Judge Mark Forcum agreed, ruling on Thursday that the defense failed to prove Najdawi was insane at the time of the murder, prosecutors said.

Bay City News contributed to this report.