A 32-year-old defendant was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2015 murder of a female victim in Hollywood that prosecutors contend was motivated by a business dispute.

Ezeoma Chigozie Obioha was convicted last December of one count of first-degree murder for killing the victim, Carrie Jean Melvin, with a shotgun on July 5, 2015. The charge included the special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed for financial gain and that Obioha used a gun. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry further sentenced Obioha to a prison term of 25-years-to life because of the gun allegation, said Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Greg Risling.

Prosecutors alleged that Obioha owed Melvin money for marketing his clothing business. Melvin allegedly filed a complaint against Obioha with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office in the days prior to the murder, claiming he gave her a $1,620 check that bounced.

Obioha was convicted of lying in wait for Melvin near her apartment in Hollywood and shooting her near the corner of McCadden Place and Sunset Boulevard. The victim was walking to a restaurant with her boyfriend.

Police arrested Obioha on July 24, 2015 at an undisclosed location. Investigators confirmed in 2015 that Obioha ran Hoods Inc., a clothing business in the 5500 block of Pico Boulevard. He also worked as a security guard at medical marijuana clinics and had a state security guard license.

Prosecutors told the jury that a shotgun belonging to Obioha was found in Malibu in the days after the homicide along with a distinctive shotgun shell that was the same type as one found at the scene of the homicide. Obioha’s defense attorney claimed the gun was planted, according to media reports.