Ex-BP Engineer Found Guilty In Gulf Of Mexico Spill Case

"Today a jury in New Orleans found that Kurt Mix purposefully obstructed the efforts of law enforcement during the investigation of the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.

The defense said it would appeal the decision.

"Mix was rightly acquitted of one of the two counts he faced - and we will continue to fight until we receive the full vindication that Kurt deserves," his defense team said after the verdict. "Rest assured we will use every avenue to appeal this case until Kurt is fully exonerated."

Prosecutor Leo Tsao had told the jurors that Mix had been warned repeatedly not to delete any information from his company iPhone and had notified him that he might be subpoenaed before a grand jury investigating BP's response to the spill.

By ignoring those warnings, Mix displayed "corrupt intent" Tsao said.

"He deleted the messages even though he had been told ... that if he did so, he could be criminally prosecuted," the prosecutor told the jury.

Mix's lawyer, Michael McGovern, countered that his client was an innocent man who "told the truth to U.S. government scientists all throughout the response effort."