Roanoke jury finds man guilty of capital murder

Roanoke jury finds man guilty of capital murder


A jury has found a man guilty of capital murder in the shooting death of a Roanoke shopkeeper.

The Circuit Court jury on Wednesday also convicted Reginald Killingsworth of attempted robbery and firearms charges in the November 2006 incident in which Zaid Almajali was killed.

The panel is to return Thursday to decide the sentence. Its only choices for punishment on the capital murder charge are death or life in prison.

A Z-Mart clerk testified that Killingsworth pulled a pistol, demanded money and shot Almajali after the store owner tried to take the gun from him.

Killingsworth testified that when he entered the store, the two men insulted and threatened him. He said he fired his gun after Almajali blocked the door, but only meant to scare him.

(source: Associated Press)