2nd Man Convicted of Murder in Westminster Store Holdup

The second man accused of participating in the 1984 slaying of a Westminster jewelry store owner was convicted of first-degree murder Monday.

Torey E. Navey, 24, will be sentenced to life in prison without parole because the jury found that the killing took place during a robbery.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard F. Toohey did not seek the death penalty against Navey. Toohey pointed out that he had sought a death sentence against Navey’s co-defendant, Hans Swaving, who had a more serious criminal background than Navey. But jurors in that case returned a verdict calling for life without parole.

The two were charged with the murder of Juan E. Suarez, 38, owner of the family-run Jewelry Showcase at Beach and Westminster boulevards.

Suarez’s wife, Olga, and their daughter, Jennifer, 7, were held at gunpoint a few feet away while he was shot to death. The victim’s wife identified Navey as the gunman.

Navey and Swaving were spotted on the Riverside Freeway after the shooting and led police on a high-speed chase to the Gypsum Canyon Road area near the Riverside County line. They ran into the hills, triggering a manhunt that involved dozens of police officers and three helicopters. The killers surrendered after being found by a helicopter equipped with infrared cameras that detected heat from their bodies.

Police recovered the .38-caliber pistol used to kill Suarez. They found that it had been stolen from a pawn shop in Utah a few days before the jewelry store robbery.

Navey did not deny his participation in the robbery but said the gun went off by accident. Besides the murder and robbery convictions, Navey was found guilty of assault with a firearm on the victim’s wife and two counts of assault on police officers involved in the chase.

Navey is to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge C. Robert Jameson on Aug. 7; Swaving will be sentenced July 31.