Supermarket Robber Convicted of Murder in Van Nuys Case

A Pacoima man found guilty of participating in eight supermarket robberies was also convicted Monday of murder in the death of a soft drink salesman who was gunned down during a holdup.

A Van Nuys Superior Court jury convicted Jose Santillan, 20, in the murder of Robert Ward Jr., even though prosecutors conceded Santillan was not the gunman. The man who actually pulled the trigger and another accomplice are still wanted by authorities, who say the suspects have probably fled to Mexico.

A panel on Friday convicted Santillan on 17 counts of robbery. When one juror was excused last week, the new panel reconvened Monday to convict Santillan on the murder and three additional robbery charges.

Santillan was convicted in Ward’s slaying under California’s “felony murder rule,” a law which makes participants in a felony--in Santillan’s case, it was a robbery--liable for the murder of anyone who dies during the commission of that crime.

“It’s a perfect example of why we have the felony murder rule,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels. “When you go into a supermarket to do an armed robbery, chances are someone’s going to get killed.”

Santillan faces a mandatory prison term of 25 years to life for Ward’s murder when he is sentenced April 21. Additionally, Judge Sandy Kriegler can add up to 40 years for the robberies.

Ward was talking on the phone with his fiance--apparently unaware that a robbery was underway--when a gunman walked up to him and pulled the trigger. The slaying occurred during an early morning robbery Oct. 19, 1992, at the Ralph’s supermarket at Sherman Way and Woodman Avenue in Van Nuys.

Santillan was found guilty of participating in eight robberies at seven stores. The Ralphs where Ward was gunned down was robbed twice in a two-week period.

There was no physical evidence to link Santillan to any of the robberies, but during the trial two people who were in the store when Ward was killed positively identified Santillan as one of the two robbers. Another witness said he saw Santillan in the parking lot moments after the shooting.