Death penalty case goes to jury By Rachel Rivera Separate juries are deciding the fate of two San Diego County men charged with the murders of two liquor store employees. "Death is this state's greatest punishment. Jean Pierre Rices has earned it," prosecutor Glenn McAllister said, according to San Diego 6 News. Rices, 27, pleaded guilty in 2007 to the 2006 shooting deaths of El Cajon residents Heather Nabil Mattia, 22, and Firas Waahid Eiso, 23, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The shooting occurred during a liquor store robbery in which Rices was accompanied by Anthony James Miller, 23. During the trial this month at the San Diego County Superior Courthouse in El Cajon, Rices' attorney, Mark Chambers, told the jury about his client's troubled childhood. "Jean Pierre Rices was already broken at 5 years old. He's going to die in prison. When he dies is what you are going to decide," Chambers said. In 1999, Rices robbed a Taco Bell and was involved in a carjacking, landing him in jail for five years, according to San Diego 6 News. Not long after his release, he committed the liquor store killings, attempted to rob a Bank of America, was arrested after a Washington Mutual robbery and while in custody attempted to murder a sheriff's deputy, the newspaper reported. After his guilty plea to first-degree murder, Rices faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The decision rests with the jury. Miller is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole if found guilty of first-degree murder. Miller testified June 16 that he was forced to participate in the robbery, and that knowing Rices' background he did what he was told. Before entering the liquor store, Miller was given a duffel bag containing a mask and gloves, he said. Miller grabbed the cash and left before Mattia and Eiso were shot, according to his testimony. In previous police reports, Miller said he also took a pack of cigarettes, but in his testimony said this was a lie. McAllister was quick to point this out, but Miller remained calm and said he lied because his mind was racing and he wanted to be believed. When Miller's mother took the stand, she testified that her son had been living with her during the time of the crime. She was awakened the night of March 1 by a banging at the door, she testified. Miller did not have his key and was trying to get inside the house, according to her testimony. Rices and his girlfriend, Nichele Delon Hopson, accompanied Miller, his mother said. As Miller's mother returned to her courtroom seat, she gave her son a quick wink. • • • Vox is the newspaper of the 2009 CCNMA-San Diego Multicultural Journalism Workshop. Return to index | See also: Vox on Blogspot