A 24-year-old man faces between 10 1/2 and 41 1/4 years in prison after he was found guilty Thursday of shooting a man and robbing another, both of whom responded to an ad on Craigslist.
Jerry Ramon Jackson was found guilty on one count each of armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A 74-year-old man responded to Jackson's ad for an iPad and the two met at an apartment complex in the 2300 block of West Ina Road on Aug. 31, 2011, where Jackson shot the man and then fled.
During his testimony Jackson said he had been selling iPhones and iPads given to him from a friend, but he didn't have an iPad with him when he met the victim, and he intended to rob the man. Jackson said he borrowed the gun from a friend, put it in his backpack and intended to use it to scare the victim, not shoot him.
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He said that when he reached into the backpack, the gun accidentally went off striking the victim in the neck.
"I didn't point it at him," Jackson said. "It just went off."
In an interview with investigators from the Pima County Sheriff's Department played during the trial, Jackson said he decided to rob the man because he was out of money and it was the only way he could think of to get cash.
Investigators tied Jackson's cellphone number to another robbery reported to the Tucson Police Department involving a Craigslist ad.
That incident happened on Aug. 19, 2011, when another man purchased an iPhone from Jackson, but told police he was robbed when he later complained to Jackson that the phone didn't work.
Jackson testified that he did sell the phone to the man but had no other contact with him after the transaction.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Jane Eikleberry presided over the trial.
Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30.
Contact reporter Veronica Cruz at vcruz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4224.
