FORT WORTH -- A Fort Worth man captured on surveillance video ruthlessly shooting a convenience store owner who offered no resistance was convicted Thursday of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Frederick Jones, 31, who confessed at least three times to the shooting, was convicted by a jury in state District Judge George Gallagher's court in the death of Azmi Elqutob, 66, during a robbery that netted just $200 on June 1, 2011.The jury deliberated three hours before returning the guilty verdict. Because prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, Jones automatically received a life sentence without parole.Elqutob, a Palestinian, fled his native Jerusalem about the time of the Six-Day War in 1967 and settled in Kuwait, only to leave there in 1991 after the invasion by Iraq. He was an architect who hoped to build a better life in the United States with his wife, Samira.Four of his five children -- including daughter Reem Elqutob, who flew in from Kuwait on Wednesday -- watched in the courtroom Thursday, and daughter Mimi Elqutob, an Arlington businesswoman, addressed Jones after the verdict was read."On June 1, 2011, you decided to be God and ended my father's life," said Mimi Elqutob, choking back sobs. "I wish you will never be forgiven by God. I am happy that you will never be able to hurt anyone again."Frederick Jones, your life is over."Jones still faces five charges of harassing jail officials by throwing feces and urine during his stay in the Tarrant County Jail while awaiting trial.Prosecutor David Hagerman, who tried the case with Bill Vassar, presented evidence that Jones confessed to a cousin, to Fort Worth homicide Detective Tom Boetcher and to jail officials. Two were recorded on video, which was shown to jurors.The shooting was also captured on store surveillance video. It shows a gunman wearing a bandanna over his face bursting into Smokey's Paradise in the 5300 block of East Rosedale Street. The gunman fired two nonfatal shots, gathered the cash and then fired two more shots that ultimately caused Elqutob's death."The video of the crime showed that this was not just a robbery and not just a murder, but an execution," Hagerman told the Star-Telegram after the verdict."Azmi Elqutob fled Saddam Hussein's wrath in Kuwait seeking a better life for him and his family, only to be gunned down in his own business," Hagerman said later in a statement. "These small, mom-and-pop stores are the lifeblood of many of our poorer neighborhoods. When one of them is murdered in cold blood, it is an appalling tragedy for the entire community."Co-defendants Jeremy Deshon Hopkins, 29, of Everman and Calvin Robertson, 32, of Fort Worth are awaiting trial on capital murder charges. They are accused of waiting outside the store while Jones entered.Defense attorney Mary B. Thornton and Stuart Oliphint suggested during questioning that Jones was not the gunman."It was a difficult case," Thornton said after the verdict. "He was prepared for the possibility."Elqutob's son Rashad, who was present for the entire trial, said he has since sold the convenience store, which he co-owned with his father. He now works for a contracting company.He said his father was a "hard worker, a good father, a good grandfather.""Things like this you only see in movies," he said after the verdict was announced. "I lived in that neighborhood almost 10 years, and I've never heard of anybody being gunned down before that."He never harmed or hurt anybody in the 20 years he lived here. He went too soon."Another son was present during the trial but was not there when the verdict was read.The children said their mother had been unable to sit through the trial.Dianna Hunt,817-390-7084Twitter: @DiannaHunt