In the early morning hours of December 27, 1989, a robbery at a Short Stop convenience store at 48th Street and Broadway in Phoenix, Arizona, turned deadly. Ron Barman, a 46-year-old male store clerk, was shot and killed during the commission of the crime. A second victim, 61-year-old security guard Richard Butts, also lost his life in the violent encounter.
The assailant managed to get away with only $72.
The investigation into the double homicide was aided by surveillance footage from the convenience store. The video captured a male suspect wearing a distinctive sweater with light-colored, diamond-shaped patterns. This key piece of evidence, along with witness testimonies, quickly led investigators to a recently released convict, Eric John King. He had just completed a seven-year prison sentence for kidnapping and sexual assault.
A crucial witness, Michael Jones, told authorities that he had accompanied King to the store on the night of the murders. Jones stated that he waited outside while King went in. After hearing gunshots, he saw King exiting the store with a gun in his hand. Another witness, Nekita Renee Hill, testified that she saw King getting rid of a plastic bag that contained a gun and the unique sweater seen in the surveillance video.
Based on the evidence and witness accounts, Eric John King was arrested and charged with the murders of Ron Barman and Richard Butts. He was convicted on September 5, 1990, and subsequently sentenced to death on March 4, 1991. Despite numerous appeals over the next two decades, his conviction and sentence were upheld. On March 29, 2011, Eric John King was executed by lethal injection for the murders.
