Home Depot Killer Sentenced to Death

A judge officially sentenced Jason Russell Richardson to die for killing a San Juan Capistrano man who was trying to protect customers and fellow employees during a robbery at a Tustin Home Depot nearly five years ago.

Richardson, 41, of Oceanside, continued to show no remorse for the crime at the sentencing, interrupting victim Tom Egan’s widow, A.J. Egan, as she spoke, and yelling over her that he didn’t kill anyone, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office. 

The sentence comes after prosecutors' third attempt to seek the death penalty for the murder of 40-year-old Egan, a retired U.S. Marine. Two previous juries were unable to reach a verdict regarding the death penalty -- on May 20, 2010, and .

A third jury convened in October. This time, it took them just five hours to .

During Monday's sentencing,  A.J. Egan gave an impact statement to the court, explaining that her husband, Tom, had been her world, and Richardson had torn apart that world apart forever, according to a press release from the District Attorney’s office. She also described the difficulty in explaining the murder to the couple's two young daughters.

On Feb. 9, 2007, dressed in a full-body painter's suit, gloves and dust mask, Richardson entered the Home Depot store, carrying a black bag. He approached Egan, pulled out a gun, and demanded all the cash kept in the store's safe, according to prosecutors.

In 2010, a jury found Richardson guilty of one felony count of special-circumstances murder.

The first jury split 9-3 in favor of the death penalty, while the second voted 11-1. The forewoman in the April deliberations told reporters the lone holdout could not vote for the death penalty because she thought Richardson felt threatened by his victim.

After Egan informed Richardson he did not have access to the safe, Richardson headed toward the store's front cash registers. Egan instructed nearby employees to call 911 and then followed Richardson to the front of the store, according to the D.A.

Richardson attempted to rob an employee at gunpoint and ignored Egan, who was trying to discourage him from harming or robbing anyone, according to the D.A. Richardson then turned and shot Egan dead, stepped over his body, and pointed his firearm at another employee. He stole approximately $500 before fleeing the scene.