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Jury Recommends Death Penalty For Man Convicted Of Killing Home Depot Worker During Robbery

SANTA ANA (CBS) — A jury recommended the death penalty Wednesday for Jason Russell Richardson, convicted in the February 2007 murder of a Home Depot assistant manager during a robbery in Tustin.

Richardson was convicted in April 2010 for the murder of 40-year-old Tom Egan.

Two previous juries were unable to reach a unanimous decision on whether to recommend death or life in prison without parole for Richardson.

Richardson wore full-body painter's coveralls, sunglasses, dust mask and gloves to disguise himself in the Feb. 9, 2007, robbery that netted him about $500, prosecutors said. He was caught because he left behind a sock full of ammunition that had his DNA on it.

Prosecutors pushed for the death penalty, noting that Richardson raped two ex-girlfriends in 1990 and 17 years later shot and killed Egan, who was trying to convince Richardson to not hurt any of his co-workers during armed holdup.

Jurors were shown surveillance video of Richardson shooting Egan in the stomach and then turning his attention to another clerk he ordered to give him cash.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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