EL CAJON, Calif. -- A man facing life in prison without the possibility of parole for the Christmas Eve 2007 shooting death of his estranged wife fired his lawyer Monday, causing postponement of his sentencing.

Mychal Reed, 46, was convicted Sept. 25 of first-degree murder, lying in wait and personal use of a semiautomatic weapon.

Judge Louis Hanoian granted Reed's wish to fire attorney Richard Berkon and scheduled a hearing for Nov. 30, at which time a new sentencing date will be set.

El Cajon police Officer Thomas Winslow testified that Rosa Reed told him a month before the shooting that her husband went to her workplace at an East County casino and threatened to kill her.

She also showed the officer a text message in which the defendant threatened to kill her, Winslow said.

The 44-year-old victim said that when she told her husband she was seeing another man, "he responded with 'you're hurting me and I'm going to kill you,'" Winslow testified.

She told the officer she had already told her husband she might take out a restraining order.

"She told me he said it was just a piece of paper, police couldn't be with her 24/7, and he would just kill her," Winslow said.

The officer said the defendant conceded saying some hurtful things, but denied threatening to kill his wife.

Deputy District Attorney C.J. Mody told jurors the defendant staked out the apartment of his estranged wife's new boyfriend on Dec. 24, 2007, and, when he saw her drive into the parking lot, shot her eight times with a gun borrowed from a friend.

Berkon said the couple had been estranged for about a year but attempted to reconcile during the summer and fall of 2007. When his client learned his wife was seeing someone else, "he was devastated," Berkon said.

The attorney didn't deny his client shot his wife, but argued that since it was in "the heat of passion," he should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter.

Reed was also convicted of vandalism and owning and possessing a firearm while under a restraining order. Jurors deadlocked on a charge of making a criminal threat.