A 25-year-old Tucson man has been convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a Fort Huachuca soldier.
Jurel Dionne Roberson also was convicted of drive-by shooting, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and being a prohibited gun possessor.
Roberson was accused of shooting Robert Allen Glenn, 25, and Justin Harris, 20, shortly after all three men left Club Envy, 6211 E. Speedway, on Nov. 3, 2007.
Glenn died as a result of his injuries. Harris survived, and a third soldier, Grady Gilmer, escaped injury.
Prosecutors alleged that Roberson was angry upon learning Gilmer had had sex with the mother of one of his children and pulled up next to the men in his car and fired several rounds into theirs.
Roberson wasn't arrested until last May, when the story was aired on "America's Most Wanted" and a viewer told authorities where he was in Mesa.
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On Friday, Roberson told jurors that two weeks before the shooting, he had fought with four strangers at Club Envy and they threatened to kill him with the assault rifle they kept in their trunk.
Roberson testified that on the night of the shooting he went to Club Envy. After he left, the driver of a car began slowing down and speeding up as he drove west on Speedway, refusing to let him by.
When the passenger in the back seat began to reach for something, Roberson remembered the threats from two weeks earlier and opened fire with a gun he said belonged to a sister of one of his girlfriends.
He had no idea Gilmer was in the car; he didn't know anyone in the car, Roberson said. He fired because he thought he and his passengers were going to be killed, Roberson said.
Roberson acknowledged that he spoke with Gilmer that night at the club, but he said he merely told him: "There's nothing bad between us. Just go ahead and relax." He denied being jealous of the man, saying he and the mother of his children "aren't faithful to each other, but we're loyal to each other."
He'd known about Gilmer for months, Roberson said.
Roberson told defense attorney Christopher Scileppi that he didn't tell police he was acting in self-defense immediately after the event or during a 90-minute police interrogation last year because he was scared and because he didn't "trust" Tucson police Detective Kathleen Kelly.
He just simply denied any involvement.
"She wasn't going to let me go no matter what I said. She wasn't hearing me. Her mind was already made up," Roberson said.
Roberson told Deputy Pima County Attorney Kellie Johnson that he didn't have time to call 911 that night, he thought it unwise to get off Speedway, and the victim's car was faster than the one he was driving, anyway.
Roberson will be sentenced by Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields on July 8.
Reporter Kellie Mejdrich contributed to this story Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
