A verdict has been reached in the violent 2012 shooting death of 23-year-old Jeffrey Lau.

Devin Kingsley Hall, 30, was found guilty of first-degree murder in Winnipeg Tuesday afternoon and was sentenced to life in prison.

The verdict was handed down after weeks of testimony that included disturbing recollections from staff who witnessed the shooting take place at a Salisbury House on Pembina Highway on Sept. 27, 2012.

The investigation found that Lau and five other friends were sitting in a booth at the Sals when the shooter stormed the building and opened fire on the group just after 3 a.m. CT. Lau was shot five times and died a short time later, while another man was shot and survived.

"He's screaming for someone to help his friend ... 'Save my friend! Please save my friend! Somebody just save my friend,'" Tina Schultz, who was working at the Salisbury House on Pembina when a masked gunman walked in and shot two people in the fall of 2012, recalled in court June 9.

The murder trial for a man shot to death in a Winnipeg restaurant heard dramatic testimony from a waitress who witnessed the shooting and aftermath on Thursday. 0:34

Several officers who attended the scene that night, or were sent looking for evidence nearby, also testified in June.

Const. Susan Colleen Roy-Haegeman told the courts on June 10 that as she approached the Sals, which had bullet holes in one window, she could tell the crime scene was "significant" and would require a lot of work from investigators.

Jurors were also told during the trial that the gunman took 19 shots; seven were fired through the window from outside while another 12 were fired inside.

A semi-automatic pistol and 12 shell casings were found between the crime scene and nearby areas, although no fingerprints were recovered from the gun. A total of 72 exhibits were documented as part of the crime scene, including food, shards of glass, two cellphones, samples of hair and blood-stained articles of clothing.

An explosives and gunshot residue expert analyzed the evidence and found distinctive gun residue on four items.

Hall's sentence means he won't have any chance of parole for 25 years.