SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Emrah Bulatci is going to prison for a very long time.

A Supreme Court jury found the former drug dealer guilty of first degree murder in the shooting death of RCMP Const. Christopher John Worden shortly before 11 a.m. this morning.

Emrah Bulatci, center, is escorted into the Yellowknife court house. A 12-person jury found Emrah Bulatci guilty of first degree murder shortly before 11 a.m. this morning. - Cameron Ginn/NNSL photo

Bulatci, whose eyes were red, bowed his head upon hearing the decision.

Members of Worden's family were in the front row of the courtroom as the jury's foreman read the verdict. Some of them wept, others sighed with relief.

The minimum sentence for first-degree murder is 25 years without the possibility of parole.

Bulatci shot Worden four times in the early morning hours of Oct. 6, 2007 in Hay River when Worden was responding to a police call.

A 12-person jury deliberated for close to 12 hours before convicting the 25-year-old. The jury had to decide whether Bulatci was guilty of first degree murder or manslaughter. On the first day of his trial, Bulatci tried to plead guilty to manslaughter but the Crown prosecutors rejected it.

On Wednesday morning, Judge John Vertes told the five women and seven men on the jury to carefully review the evidence presented during four weeks of proceedings.

He explained they had to consider Bulatci's state of mind at the time of the killing and whether Bulatci intended to kill Worden.

In order to convict for first degree murder, he said the jury had to decide if Bulatci "either meant to kill Christopher Worden or meant to cause bodily harm that was likely to cause death."

"Probably or possibly isn't enough to convict," he said. "Even if you do not believe what the accused told you, you must still ask yourself if he still leaves any doubt."

Vertes said the jury could reject or accept the evidence presented by the dozens of witnesses who took the stand. He told them they could consider what they testified Bulatci did and said in the days following the shooting, providing they take into account that many of these people were drug dealers or had criminal records.

"Testimony from these kinds of witnesses must be approached with care," he said. "Bring to bear your common sense of everyday experience."

The jury had an indefinite period of time to make their decision. They began deliberations at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Bulatci's family was not present in the courtroom on the final days of proceedings.

The Supreme Court trial began Oct. 21.