VAN NUYS : Jury Mulls Murder, Robbery Charges

With attorneys on both sides agreeing that the sole issue is eyewitness identification, a jury began deliberations Thursday in the case of a Pacoima man charged in a series of supermarket robberies, one of which led to the death of a soft-drink salesman.

After a one-week trial, a Van Nuys Superior Court jury is weighing a murder charge and 20 counts of robbery against Jose Santillan, 20.

Santillan and two other men who authorities say fled to Mexico are suspected in a six-week crime spree that ended with the execution-style slaying of Robert Ward Jr., a 28-year-old Coca-Cola representative.

Ward was talking on the phone with his fiancee--apparently unaware that a robbery was under way--when a gunman walked up to him and pulled the trigger.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels admitted that Santillan is not the man who fired the fatal shot but argued that he is nevertheless legally responsible for his death.

Ward was killed during an early-morning robbery on Oct. 19, 1992, at the Ralphs supermarket at Sherman Way and Woodman Avenue in Van Nuys.

Santillan is accused of participating in eight robberies at seven stores.

The Ralphs where Ward was gunned down was robbed twice in a two-week period.

During the trial, two people who were in the store when Ward was killed identified Santillan as one of the robbers.

Another witness said he saw Santillan in the parking lot moments after the shooting.

However, four other people who were in the store during the crime were unable to identify Santillan as being present, a point stressed by defense attorney Dennis G. Cohen.

“You have to say whether these eyewitness identifications are accurate . . . beyond a reasonable doubt and a moral certainty,” Cohen said.

The prosecution produced no physical evidence linking Santillan to the crimes.