Second defendant found guilty in Cee Vee robbery, homicides
A jury found a second defendant guilty Friday in the 2005 robbery and fatal shooting of a Highland store owner and a clerk.
Jurors reached the verdicts late Thursday -- three days after hearing lawyers' closing arguments and seeing a compelling security video of the shooting, according to prosecutors.
Court personnel announced the verdicts Friday afternoon in San Bernardino Superior Court, as rows of family and friends of the victims looked on.
The jury found Darwin Lamont Richardson guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree robbery in the deaths of 54-year-old Steven Hall and store clerk Brian Gregorio, 25, at the Cee Vee Liquor and Couch Potato Video store.
A half-dozen special allegations, which included using a gun and multiple murders, were also found true by the jury.
After the court proceedings, Deputy Deputy District Attorney Dan Detienne explained there was no single piece of evidence that showed Richardson was guilty.
"All together, it made a pretty compelling case as to his involvement," Detienne said.
Prosecutors presented video evidence showing Richardson, 22, apparently casing the Palm Avenue store about 10 minutes before the robbery on March 16, 2005.
White, 21, and another man later robbed the store at gunpoint and escaped with money and lottery tickets. Despite complying with the robbers' demands, Hall and Gregorio were fatally shot.
Richardson, 22, and another defendant, Tristan Darnell Allan, were later seen at a 7-11 store in Corona, as stolen lottery tickets were cashed in, prosecutors said.
"He was, no doubt in my mind, involved in the robbery," Detienne said of Richardson.
Richardson is scheduled to return to court Feb. 13 for sentencing, the same day as co-defendant Christopher Turelle White. A separate jury found White, 21, guilty of similar charges earlier this week.
Both men face up to life in state prison when they are sentenced.
Court records indicate defense lawyers Richard Crouter, who represents White, and Gary Ablard, who represents Richardson, rested their cases without presenting any affirmative defense witnesses.
On Friday, Ablard said he would appeal the verdicts, but he declined to comment further.
A juror in the Richardson case said the evidence against the defendant was vast, but little was presented by the defense to show he was not involved.
"The defense never told us where Mr. Richardson was (during the robbery)," said the juror, who asked not be identified for safety reasons. "To me, that 10 minutes is never accounted for."
The juror also described Richardson's own recorded statements as "reaching for straws."
Allan, 23, is scheduled to appear in court again Dec. 12 and is still awaiting trial.
mike.cruz@inlandnewspapers.com
Always in prayer for family and friends of Brian and Steve ---