GETTYSBURG — Jurors in central Pennsylvania have convicted a man of first-degree murder in the slaying of a state game warden.

The jury deliberated for less than hour this morning delivering the verdict against Christopher Johnson. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

Defense attorneys had acknowledged Johnson fatally shot Wildlife Conservation Officer David Grove. But they had argued for third-degree murder, saying Johnson was too drunk to form the intent to kill.

Investigators say Johnson had poached a deer before Grove pulled him over near Gettysburg in November 2010. A passenger testified that Johnson vowed he wouldn’t go back to prison before the shootout that left Grove dead and Johnson wounded.

The sentencing phase begins this afternoon.