A man in Thompson, Man., has been convicted of murder in the 2007 shooting death of another man that was part of a battle over the northern city's drug trade.

Sean Heickert was found guilty on Wednesday of first-degree murder in the death of Bekim Zeneli, 33, who was found shot to death at a friend's home on Dec. 7, 2007.

A second man, Kevin Moose, was acquitted of manslaughter in Zeneli's death because of a lack of evidence against him.

Court documents have shown that several gang factions, including the Hells Angels and the Indian Posse, were trying to control the sale of cocaine in Thompson, a city of about 13,000.

In her written decision Wednesday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brenda Keyser said it was difficult to assess the credibility of several witnesses in the case, given their criminal records.

Keyser referred to the saying, "If you lay down with dogs, you are likely to get fleas," then went on to say a number of witnesses were "figuratively covered in fleas."