PHOENIX — It took a jury only two hours to decide the fate of a 17-year-old in the murders of two west Phoenix sandwich shop workers.
The Maricopa County Jury Tuesday returned guilty verdicts against Jesus Jara on one count of armed robbery and two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Guillermo Rodriguez Sanchez and Rafael Encinas Rios, both 17.
Jara's accomplice and the triggerman, Jose Bustos, 18, pleaded guilty last month. A third youth, Marcos Ontiveros, 16, accused of driving the getaway car, has yet to stand trial.
Jara faces an Oct. 19th sentencing hearing. Bustos will be sentenced on Oct. 12. Both face two mandatory life sentences in prison.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon will decide whether they will be eligible for parole after 25 years on each count.
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Court testimony and police reports revealed that late on Nov. 9, 2005, Bustos and Jara burst into the door of a Subway store armed with weapons. Rodriguez and Encinas were working the late shift.
Both stood nervously with shoulders hunched as Bustos jumped over the counter and tore through the restaurant holding an assault rifle.
The murders were captured on surveillance videotape that was shown to jurors. Authorities said it was Jara who provided the weapons and stood guard.
After the verdict, Rodriguez's mother, Guadalupe Sanchez, said, "Justice was done for our son."
