Pair convicted of killing Anza man they considered liability in theft ring
City News Service
MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Two of three men who abducted, severely beat and fatally shot an Anza man because they believed he might snitch on them for perpetrating thefts at marijuana grows were both convicted this week of first-degree murder.
George Frank Holley Jr., 42, of Oklahoma City and Nico Manuel Zahir, 30, of Anza conspired in the slaying of 42-year-old Brian Messina in 2020.
Separate juries heard their cases at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta over a nearly monthlong period. On Monday, Holley’s jury found him guilty of the murder count, firearm assault and a special circumstance allegation of killing in the course of a kidnapping. On Thursday, Zahir’s jury convicted him of the murder count, along with firearm assault, false imprisonment, the special-circumstance allegation and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer scheduled Holley’s sentencing for July 18 and Zahir’s for Aug. 15. Both men are being held without bail — Holley at the Benoit Detention Center, Zahir at the Robert Presley Jail.
Their co-defendant, 40-year-old Joe Anthony Serna of Anza, pleaded guilty in February 2024 to assault resulting in great bodily injury, gun assault and making criminal threats. He’s being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center and is slated for sentencing on Friday.
Joe Anthony Serna
Sheriff’s investigators said the men suspected Messina was secretly gathering evidence against them in connection with multiple armed thefts at illegal cannabis grows in the Anza Valley.
Holley was the first to make the allegation against his former friend, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by sheriff’s Detective Lance Stoyer. He wrote that Holley had witnessed Messina using his mobile phone to record conversations the men had concerning the thefts.
“Holley privately spoke to Serna about the recordings and planned to search Messina’s cellular phone without Messina’s knowledge or consent,” according to the affidavit.
The men were ultimately able to access the phone, and while scanning data, “Serna saw a social message that Messina had sent (stating) that if he — Messina — were to go missing or found dead, Serna would be responsible for the murder,” Stoyer said.
The three conspirators became convinced Messina was a liability, prompting a confrontation at a residence in the 39600 block of Howard Road in Anza on the night of Nov. 29, 2020, according to court papers.
In a later interview, Holley told detectives that a verbal altercation erupted, and Serna and Zahir attacked the victim, with Zahir pistol-whipping him and Serna kicking him multiple times.
The defendants beat Messina into submission, then forced him into a Toyota Tundra pickup and drove to a remote area along Bautista Road, where they all got out.
Zahir used a shotgun to execute the victim on the side of the road, Stoyer said.
None of the men had documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.