San Diego
A Los Angeles man was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder and could receive the death penalty.
Terry Bemore, 37, was found guilty in the Aug. 26, 1985, slaying of Kenneth Muck, 55, at the Aztec Liquor Store on El Cajon Blvd., which occurred during a robbery.
The jury found true two special-circumstances allegations that Muck was tortured during his slaying and that it occurred during a robbery.
The same San Diego Superior Court jury will return June 19 to hear further evidence in the penalty phase, in which they will decide whether to recommend the gas chamber or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A co-defendant, Keith Cosby, 29, was found guilty of Muck’s murder and the murder of another store clerk in a separate trial last year. Cosby was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Jan. 26.
Bemore, a former Baptist minister and a former police officer in Palo Alto, testified in his own defense and denied committing the murder. He said he was committing a robbery in El Cajon at the time.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen Anear said Muck was stabbed 37 times.
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