VAN NUYS : Jury Will Ponder Sentence in Slaying

After convicting a Van Nuys man of first-degree murder for shooting a robbery victim twice in the back, a Superior Court jury is expected to begin deliberations today to determine if the gunman should be executed for his crime or if he should be sent to prison for the rest of his life.

Lanell C. Harris, 26, was convicted June 11 of first-degree murder for shooting Julian Contreras, 51, on Aug. 7, 1991, at the Van Nuys Recreation Center, where the victim and several friends were playing cards.

Evidence at Harris’ trial indicated that Contreras was first shot when he hesitated to turn over his wallet, but then Harris fired two more rounds into the victim’s back as he lay on the ground.

While the panel was unable to reach a verdict on a second murder charge in an unrelated incident, the jury did determine that Harris shot Contreras during the course of a robbery, a special circumstance allegation which makes him eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors are asking the panel to recommend to Superior Court Judge Burt Glennon that Harris be sent to the gas chamber at San Quentin. The only other sentencing option is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“Say ‘no mercy’ because he deserves none,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels told the jury in her closing argument.

Samuels spent more than 1 1/2 hours Monday telling the jury about the viciousness of the Contreras murder and how Harris had been convicted of half a dozen felonies during the 1980s.

While Harris was on parole at the time of the killing and had visited his parole officer the morning Contreras was gunned down, defense attorney Michael Gottlieb asked the jury not to ask for the death penalty because Harris will definitely die in prison.

Gottlieb presented evidence indicating that Harris worked with youth football players and that he suffered physical abuse at the hands of his father.