July 27, 2006
A San Diego jury recommended a death sentence for an Orange County racist skinhead convicted of murdering two parking lot attendants in 1999.
Jeffrey Scott Young, 32, was earlier convicted of murdering a man and a woman seven years ago at the Five Star Park Shuttle & Fly parking lot. The bodies of booth operator Teresa Perez, 31, and manager Jack Reynolds, 44, were found on the floor of a business trailer in July 1999 after an apparent botched robbery. They were both shot in the head at close range.
After the incident, Young purchased a pair of red boot laces, according to prosecutors. In some racist skinhead circles, red or white laces can only be worn if someone has "earned" them by taking part in some sort of assault or act of violence.
An ADL expert, who testified as an expert witness in the sentencing phase of the trial, shed light on Young's numerous tattoos, which include a Nazi eagle, SS lightning bolts, German soldier portraits and other neo-Nazi symbols.
A hearing has been scheduled for September at which time the judge is expected to decide whether to follow the jury's recommendation, which was handed down on July 25, 2006.
The jury was the second to weigh punishment for Young; a previous jury, which convicted Young in October 2005 on two counts of first-degree murder, murder during a robbery and other charges, deadlocked 11-1 in favor of the death penalty.
Another man, Max Anderson, who is in prison for attempted murder of a police officer in Arizona, shot one of the victims, prosecutors said. A third defendant, David Raynoha, pleaded guilty to charges related to the case, but details of the plea are unavailable because of a gag order imposed by the judge.
Another suspect, James Torkelson, is currently incarcerated in Oregon on other charges. Torkelson, who was fired from his job as a security guard at the parking lot a week before the murders, allegedly masterminded the robbery scheme.
Updated: December 01, 2006
A San Diego Superior Court sentenced Jeffrey Scott Young to death for his role in the 1999 murder of two employees at a parking lot near the San Diego International Airport. During the sentencing phase of the trial, an ADL witness provided expert testimony regarding Young's multiple tattoos which include a Nazi eagle, SS lightning bolts, German soldier portraits and other neo-Nazi symbols, revealing his identity as a racist skinhead.
The sentence, which was handed down on November 28, 2006, will automatically be appealed to the California Supreme Court.