A convicted murderer and alleged gang member was sentenced on Thursday to 50 years to life in prison for the 2005 shooting death of Bruce Barksdale in Oxnard.

Lewis Brown, 25, was found guilty by a Ventura County Superior Court jury in April. The jury also convicted him of assault with a firearm and causing great bodily injury in the accidental shooting of Sophia Shua while he was firing at Barksdale.

The victim's mother, Darlene Barksdale, expressed her grief, anger and sadness for about five minutes as she addressed the court during the sentencing of her son's killer. She cried as she talked about the crime and the pain of losing a son.

"It saddens me very much to know what you did to my son," Darlene Barksdale told Brown, who sat at the defense table. "His death was caused over a cell phone."

She said her son had helped Brown, a former Ventura County resident, move to Las Vegas, and Brown had let him stay at his home.

"You came up from behind him and killed him," Darlene Barksdale said. "Every day, I just want to go to that grave site and dig him up. He was the love of my life. You just don't know what you have done to his (three) children more so than me."

Brown was convicted of killing Barksdale in the parking lot of the Channel Islands Inn and Suites on March 8, 2005. Prosecutors say Brown is a member of the Black Mafia gang and his gang moniker is "Maniac."

Barksdale had lived in Oxnard, though his last known address was in Moorpark.

According to court testimony, Barksdale was a drug dealer and was shot after he stopped paying the $400 monthly to use Brown's cell phone, which contained the phone numbers of drug-using customers.

Barksdale — who was also a member of the Black Mafia, according to trial testimony — had told people he wasn't making enough money from the local drug users while taking the risk of being arrested for drug dealing.

Darlene Barksdale said Brown has never been truthful to his mother, Stephanie Summerford, who was also in the courtroom Thursday.

"I hope you rot in hell, and that's all I have to say to you, Lewis Brown," Darlene Barksdale told Brown.

After a she spoke, there was a brief silence in the courtroom before prosecutor Chrystina Jenson told the judge: "No further evidence from the people."

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edward Brodie said there was "incredibly overwhelming" evidence presented against Brown during the trial. He described Barksdale's death as "an execution-style" slaying, adding that he still finds it hard to believe how "a person can kill someone he has known as a friend."

The judge ordered Brown to pay more than $15,000 to the victims.

Brown's lawyer, John McNamara, said his client maintains his innocence and will appeal the conviction.

"He has sincere feelings of sadness and sorrow for Mr. Barksdale. He does express that," McNamara told the judge.

Outside the courtroom, Summerford said prosecution witnesses testified that they didn't see who shot Barksdale. She said a motel surveillance videotape showing the shooter wasn't admitted as evidence during the trial.