An Alhambra man was convicted Wednesday of fatally shooting a Montebello man who resisted giving up his chain and gold cross, a family heirloom, during a robbery in East Los Angeles six years ago.

Abraham Cabrera and his two accomplices fled with the victim’s backpack, which contained beer and his In-N-Out uniform, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Detective Theo Baljet said. The necklace was broken. The cross ended up on the sidewalk and the chain was found in the victim’s clothing, he said.

A jury found Cabrera guilty of first-degree murder and second-degree robbery, said Pamela Johnson, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Jurors also found true the allegations that he personally used a firearm to commit the crimes, she added.

The 24-year-old Cabrera faces a possible maximum sentence of 38 years to life in prison when he returns to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles for a Dec. 17 sentencing, according to Johnson.

Authorities initially had identified him as Abraham Caberea.

Cabrera’s attorney, Madeline Chih-Jui Chang, declined to comment on Thursday. The victim’s family couldn’t be reached for comment.

Rene Lupian worked at In-N-Out to save money for college and planned to start classes in 2019 in hopes of becoming an architect, his uncle Daniel Lupian said in a 2018 interview.

On the night of Nov. 7, 2018, the 22-year-old Lupian got off work at the In-N-Out in Pico Rivera and took an Uber that dropped him off at Garfield Liquor on Whittier Boulevard in Montebello, Baljet said. He bought beer, which he put in his backpack.

A Honda Civic pulled into the parking lot, driven by Wayne Andrew Seare, Baljet said, adding Cabrera sat in the front seat and Samantha Irene Castillo was in the back seat.

Castillo went into the store and also bought beer, the detective said, adding she may have noticed Lupian’s gold chain and gold cross.

When Lupian left the store to walk home, the Honda carrying the trio followed him to the 900 block of South Concourse Avenue in East Los Angeles.

Cabrera and Castillo got out of the car. She grabbed the backpack and he pushed Lupian.

“At some point, (Cabrera) tried to get the necklace,” Baljet said.

Detectives believe Lupian fought with Cabrera, who shot him twice. He also hit Lupian with the butt of the gun twice, Baljet said.

Lupian died at a hospital. Seare was in the Honda when it later was found and pulled over, the detective said.

Through interviews, he said the other suspects were identified.

Seare pleaded guilty to robbery and being an accessory after the fact on Feb. 6, 2020. He was sentenced on July 27, 2020 to seven years in prison.

Castillo, who pleaded guilty to robbery on Feb. 6, 2020, received a 5-year prison sentence.