An illegal immigrant who killed his boss last year over a wage dispute in Utah County pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree felony murder. Jesus Hernandez admitted shooting 38-year-old masonry contractor Joseph Crummy at a Lehi subdivision on Jan. 9, 2004. The 33-year-old Mexican national faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced May 3 by 4th District Judge Samuel McVey. In exchange for Hernandez's plea to murder, prosecutors dismissed felony charges of obstructing justice and possession of a gun by a restricted person. Hernandez resorted to murder because Crummy wrote paychecks that bounced and the Utah Labor Commission was deaf to the defendant's complaints, according to testimony at a June 2004 preliminary hearing. A month before the shooting, Hernandez told state labor officials that Crummy's company, Prestige Exteriors, owed him $1,345. A dozen other workers had also received paychecks from Crummy that bounced, according to testimony. When his complaints to the labor commission produced no results, Hernandez confronted Crummy at the Lehi job site. "Where's my money?" Hernandez demanded, according to a witness. The two men argued, with Hernandez claiming he was working by the hour, and Crummy countering that Hernandez was a contract worker who was paid by the job. Hernandez ended the dispute by shooting Crummy in the head and shoulder. Hernandez threw the .22-caliber pistol into the Jordan River, then drove to his parents' Taylorsville home, where he later surrendered to police. Crummy left behind a pregnant wife and four children. - Stephen Hunt