Specter of Death Penalty : Triple slaying: Prosecutors file charges making execution of Gregory Allan Sturm a possibility. Family mourns one of the victims in a memorial service.

Prosecutors Friday filed murder charges that could result in the death penalty against 21-year-old Gregory Allan Sturm in connection with a triple slaying at an auto parts store where he worked until his dismissal several weeks ago.

Sturm, tall, blond and blue-eyed, appeared briefly before Municipal Judge Gary P. Ryan, and his arraignment was postponed until Sept. 7. He has been charged with seven felony counts--including three counts of murder, three counts of robbery and one count of burglary.

Prosecutors have also filed special circumstance allegations of multiple murder and murder during the commission of a robbery, which would make Sturm eligible for the death penalty if it is sought.

As Sturm faced charges that he shot to death three former co-workers at Super Shops in Tustin, friends and relatives gathered Friday in Costa Mesa to eulogize one of them, Chad Everett Chadwick.

About 200 mourners gathered to bid farewell to Chadwick, who had planned to marry soon. But amid the tears and anguish for the slain young man, prayers were also offered for the parents of his former co-worker who was arrested.

“I think I know what those parents are going through . . . and Chad was not a vengeful kid,” said Sharon Chadwick, the mother of the 22-year-old slain man. “He would not have wanted us to show animosity toward anyone.”

Sturm, who recently moved to Orange County from Riverside, was arrested early Thursday morning during a raid at his girlfriend’s house in Riverside. Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Middleton, who appeared at Friday’s hearing, provided few details about Sturm’s arrest.

“He was interviewed by the police and he did make some incriminating statements,” Middleton said.

Several weeks ago, Sturm was fired from the store for theft and other “inappropriate conduct,” Tustin police said, but they have declined to elaborate.

However, investigators and company President Gregg Koechlein said they do not believe that the slayings were related to the dismissal.

The bodies of Chadwick, Darrell Esgar, 22, of Huntington Beach and Russel B. Williams, 21, of Seal Beach were discovered Monday morning when the store was opened. Each had their hands bound and two of the victims had their feet bound. All had been shot in the head.

Investigators identified Sturm as a suspect after another Super Shops employee told police he had loaned Sturm his .38-caliber handgun and that Sturm had returned the gun Sunday night. Police, however, have not identified the other employee, and said they do not believe he was involved in the slayings.

Wakefield would also not detail the scenario of the slayings. He did say, however, that investigators believe Sturm acted alone and that the motive was robbery to sustain a cocaine habit. Store officials have determined that about $1,100 was missing from a store safe.

“It’s not a large amount, but it would appear that he went back to the store because he was familiar with the place,” Wakefield said.

Koechlein, president of the 154-store Super Shops chain, said there is no indication that Sturm had sought revenge or had threatened employees. He said store employees are shocked at the arrest.

“They are very upset that it is somebody they knew and worked with who did this,” he said.

Employees at the Tustin Super Shops store and those who attended the Chadwick memorial service were reluctant to talk about Sturm but hinted at erratic behavior that had been a source of friction.

“Chad would be upset when he (Sturm) wouldn’t show up for work or when he wouldn’t do his job properly,” Sharon Chadwick said at the memorial service at Calvary Chapel that was attended by about 200 mourners. “He told me when they fired (Sturm) and it was no surprise.”

Chadwick had planned to marry 19-year-old Lesley McLeod, whom he had dated for the past three years.

“We were going to have our blood tests done on the same day I received the news” of his death, McLeod said.

McLeod said Chadwick had told her about Sturm’s alleged drug problem, and that it had affected his (Sturm’s) performance on the job. “Chad was against drugs and he didn’t like it,’ McLeod said, adding that the tragedy had left her feeling bitter.

A woman who answered the door at the Sturm’s ranch-style home in rustic hills just outside Riverside declined to comment on the arrest.

Neighbors, however, painted a picture of a troubled youth who was frequently at odds with neighbors and his family.

Jim McDaniel has lived next to the Sturm’s hilltop home on Lippizan Drive for 12 years and said that Gregory Sturm frequently had raucous, disruptive parties when his parents were away.

“As soon as they (parents) left, his friends would start up the hill in their pickups,” McDaniel said.

He said he reported Sturm to the police for allegedly firing a pellet gun at his window during a party about five years ago. Some time later, McDaniel said, he filed another police report when Sturm allegedly pulled a gun on his wife.

McDaniel said that when Sturm was about 16, his mother told McDaniel that the elder Sturm had kicked her son out of the house for a drug-related incident.

“She said that she didn’t think that was an adequate reason . . . but maybe now she thinks otherwise,” McDaniel said.

Another neighbor, Nancy Marconio, described the Sturms as a friendly family, but said she did not know Gregory Sturm too well.

“He seemed like a nice kid,” she said. “My husband was good friends with them and they would come over and borrow tools. They’re OK people.”

Staff writer Jerry Hicks and correspondents Shannon Sands and Ted Johnson contributed to this report.