Thomas: Guilty of First-Degree Murder

Jurors convicted a reputed North Palm Springs gang member accused in the beating death of a 66-year-old security guard, Wednesday.

Jamar Thomas, 21, could face the death penalty stemming from the June 9, 2007, attack on Bower Security Co. guard Wallace Brown, a former Marine.

Thomas was found guilty on all counts of first-degree murder, murder during a robbery, and robbery to benefit a street gang.

Also charged in Brown’s death are alleged Northside Gateway Posse Crip gang members Darius Lee, 21, Jerrett Lewis, 20, and Akil Williams, 19, who will stand trial at a later date.

The six-woman, six-man jury received the case late Monday afternoon and deliberated all day Tuesday.

In his closing argument Monday, Deputy District Attorney Manny Bustamante said the defendants threw three rocks at Brown’s van, which was parked at a construction site near Rosa Parks Road and El Dorado Boulevard.

The prosecutor said the defendants intended to rob Brown and pointed to surveillance video that showed all four defendants in the area that night.

In a video aired in court, Thomas gave several versions of the night’s events that ranged from denying any involvement in the killing; to saying he only tried to get the guard out of the van; to saying that Lewis beat Brown.

Although Thomas denied involvement in the beating, he is as guilty as Lewis under the law, the prosecutor told jurors.

Defense attorney John Hemmer has said there is no forensic evidence that Thomas was involved in the beating.

Lewis took the witness stand last week to take the blame for the attack, but testified he couldn’t remember most of the night’s events because he was drunk and had taken marijuana and PCP.

Brown died three days later at a hospital without regaining consciousness.