Crime & Safety

Will Third Time Be Charm in Home Depot Killer Case?

Prosecutors seek another shot at death penalty in murder of San Juan man. After two hung juries, a judge must decide whether to convene a new jury or just sentence Jason Russell Richardson to life.

After for Jason Russell Richardson last month, the Orange County District Attorney's office announced Friday it would ask the judge to convene another jury.

Two previous juries failed to reach verdicts in the penalty phase for Richardson, 40, who was convicted last year of killing San Juan Capistrano resident Tom Egan at the Home Depot store Egan managed in Tustin.

The decision to seek the death penalty a third time was announced by
Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley during a court hearing to determine if prosecutors wanted to try again or let Richardson be sentenced to life without parole, according to City News Service. Cameron cited the "egregiousness" of the crime.

Defense attorney Richard Schwartzberg said he will file a motion this summer asking Orange County Superior Court Judge William Froeberg to rule out another death penalty bid. Prosecutors can seek execution at their discretion twice, but a judge has to decide on a third death penalty phase.

The case is next scheduled to be heard in court Oct. 3, but the judge will make a ruling before that, Schwartzberg said.

The jury that convicted Richardson was split 9-3 in favor of the death penalty. More recently, a second jury on April 15 split 11-1 in favor of execution. The forewoman of that jury said the panelist who voted against the death penalty thought Richardson felt threatened by his victim, 40-year-old Tom Egan.

Jurors saw store surveillance video that showed Egan running after Richardson to try to stop him from shooting anyone during the robbery. They
also heard evidence that Richardson is a convicted rapist who sexually assaulted two ex-girlfriends.

The jurors were not swayed to show mercy by Richardson's nightmarish upbringing at the hands of drug addicts and alcoholics, the forewoman said.

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Richardson, clad in a hazmat suit with a dust mask, shot and killed Egan Feb. 9, 2007, during a robbery that netted him about $500. Egan, who was minutes away from finishing his shift on what normally would have been a day off, trailed Richardson, pleading with him to not hurt anyone, Talley said.

-- City News Service

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