Inmate Is Convicted of Tustin Clerk’s Murder in Robbery at Bank

A 53-year-old Folsom prison inmate was convicted Monday of murdering a Tustin store clerk in a $20,000 robbery six years ago, attorneys said.

The jury took four hours to find John Clyde Abel, 53, formerly of Fullerton, guilty of murder committed with a handgun during a robbery, said George A. Peters Jr., one of two defense attorneys. The verdict means that Abel, who is serving prison time for a string of robberies, will qualify for the death penalty.

Peters would not comment on the verdict, citing the upcoming penalty phase of the case.

The slaying occurred on Jan. 4, 1991, at the Sunwest Bank branch on 1st Street, where Armando Miller had gone to withdraw $20,000 for his parents’ check-cashing business, police said at the time. As Miller, 26, walked to his van, Abel approached him from behind and shot him in the head before taking the cash, police said.

Abel was arrested in 1995 after his former girlfriend told investigators that he had confessed the crime to her before they both went to prison for unrelated robberies.

Two women who saw the gunman on the day of the shooting identified Abel in photo lineups. Another woman saw Abel in the Millers’ business, Alameda Market, weeks before the murder, indicating that he had knowledge of the family’s routine of withdrawing cash from Sunwest Bank, Deputy District Attorney Lew Rosenblum said during the trial.

Because the crime occurred years ago and a key witness surfaced only recently, the prosecution relied mostly on circumstantial evidence. Witnesses’ memories also became blurred, as the prosecution learned when one witness who saw the gunman after the shooting could not identify him in court.

Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors did not have sufficient evidence to place Abel at the crime scene and offered three alibis. They also cited inconsistencies in witnesses’ statements, including two different descriptions for the gunman’s coat.

The penalty phase is set to begin Wednesday. The same jury will recommend whether Abel should be executed.