Gregory Allan Sturm

Prosecutors Friday filed murder charges that could result in the death penalty against 21-year-old Gregory Allan Sturm in connection with a triple slaying at an auto parts store where he worked until his dismissal several weeks ago. Sturm, tall, blond and blue-eyed, appeared briefly before Municipal Judge Gary P. Ryan, and his arraignment was postponed until Sept. 7. He has been charged with seven felony counts--including three counts of murder, three counts of robbery and one count of burglary.

Calling the killings "callous" and "motiveless," a Superior Court Judge Friday condemned a 22-year-old man to death for the execution-style slayings of three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store. In his sentencing, Judge Donald A. McCartin denounced Gregory Allan Sturm of Tustin as a self-indulgent person who thought nothing of ruthlessly killing three friends and then heading out for dinner. "They trusted him; they let him into the store. . . .

A Superior Court jury Friday convicted a 21-year-old Tustin man of murdering three young auto shop employees whom he had robbed, bound with tape and shot as they helplessly sat on the floor. The jury will reconvene Monday to determine whether Gregory Allan Sturm, who wept as the verdicts were read, will go to the gas chamber or spend the rest of his life in prison.

After three hours of deliberation, an Orange County jury Monday recommended that Gregory Allan Sturm be sentenced to death for the execution-style killings of three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store. It was the second time that Sturm's fate was in the hands of a jury. The jury that convicted him of the 1990 murders deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of a life sentence last June.

Neighbors who knew Gregory Allan Sturm when he was growing up in the rocky hills of the De Anza area outside Riverside remember an energetic, playful youth who loved to swim and often baby-sat younger neighborhood children. But at some point, they say without quite being able to pinpoint it, that youthful energy became misdirected and was a source of friction among family and neighbors.

Prosecutors will get a second chance to send convicted triple-murderer Gregory Allan Sturm to the gas chamber, a judge ruled Friday. Sturm, 22, was convicted last month of murdering three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store in the course of a drug-related robbery.

After three hours of deliberation, an Orange County jury Monday recommended that Gregory Allan Sturm be sentenced to death for the execution-style killings of three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store. It was the second time that Sturm's fate was in the hands of a jury. The jury that convicted him of the 1990 murders deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of a life sentence last June.

Six of the 12 jurors who deadlocked in the penalty phase of the Gregory Allan Sturm triple murder trial have taken the unusual step of asking prosecutors not to again seek a death sentence for the former Tustin store clerk. The jurors who convicted Sturm, 22, of killing three former co-workers during a 1990 robbery signed a letter contending that a retrial would be a waste of taxpayers' money and would probably not result in a unanimous verdict.

Defense and prosecution attorneys told jurors Monday that Gregory Allan Sturm bound, robbed, shot and killed three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store, a crime for which Sturm could be sent to the gas chamber. The major point of disagreement, the attorneys said in their opening statements, was what role, if any, cocaine played in the 21-year-old Tustin man's actions. The defense hopes to prove that he was under the influence of cocaine and thus avoid the death penalty. Deputy Dist.

Calling the killings "callous" and "motiveless," a Superior Court Judge Friday condemned a 22-year-old man to death for the execution-style slayings of three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store. In his sentencing, Judge Donald A. McCartin denounced Gregory Allan Sturm of Tustin as a self-indulgent person who thought nothing of ruthlessly killing three friends and then heading out for dinner. "They trusted him; they let him into the store. . . .

Six of the 12 jurors who deadlocked in the penalty phase of the Gregory Allan Sturm triple murder trial have taken the unusual step of asking prosecutors not to again seek a death sentence for the former Tustin store clerk. The jurors who convicted Sturm, 22, of killing three former co-workers during a 1990 robbery signed a letter contending that a retrial would be a waste of taxpayers' money and would probably not result in a unanimous verdict.

Prosecutors will get a second chance to send convicted triple-murderer Gregory Allan Sturm to the gas chamber, a judge ruled Friday. Sturm, 22, was convicted last month of murdering three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store in the course of a drug-related robbery.

In the summer of 1990, Orange County was shocked by two unrelated crimes that left four young people dead and two others facing the gas chamber. There were numerous gang-related killings around the county that summer--tragic, fatal shootings involving adolescent friends and family members and the slayings of several babies. But the cases of Maria (Rosie) del Rosio Alfaro and Gregory Allan Sturm were especially brutal and horrific.

After eight days of deliberation, an Orange County jury Wednesday deadlocked, 10-2, against the death penalty for a man convicted of the execution-style murder of three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store. Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin declared a mistrial and scheduled a hearing for June 19, when prosecutors must decide whether to have a new jury decide the fate of Gregory Allan Sturm, 21.

A Superior Court jury Friday convicted a 21-year-old Tustin man of murdering three young auto shop employees whom he had robbed, bound with tape and shot as they helplessly sat on the floor. The jury will reconvene Monday to determine whether Gregory Allan Sturm, who wept as the verdicts were read, will go to the gas chamber or spend the rest of his life in prison.

The evidence against a man accused of the execution-style shooting of three former co-workers makes it a "slam-dunk . . . first-degree" case and there is no question that he killed and then robbed them at an auto parts store, a defense attorney told jurors in his closing arguments Thursday. However, Gregory A. Sturm, 21, of Tustin was on a cocaine high and did not know what he was doing, said Deputy Public Defender William G.

After eight days of deliberation, an Orange County jury Wednesday deadlocked, 10-2, against the death penalty for a man convicted of the execution-style murder of three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store. Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin declared a mistrial and scheduled a hearing for June 19, when prosecutors must decide whether to have a new jury decide the fate of Gregory Allan Sturm, 21.

In the summer of 1990, Orange County was shocked by two unrelated crimes that left four young people dead and two others facing the gas chamber. There were numerous gang-related killings around the county that summer--tragic, fatal shootings involving adolescent friends and family members and the slayings of several babies. But the cases of Maria (Rosie) del Rosio Alfaro and Gregory Allan Sturm were especially brutal and horrific.

Moments before Gregory A. Sturm allegedly shot and killed three former colleagues at a Tustin auto parts store, one of the victims pleaded with him not to shoot them, according to a videotaped confession played for a Superior Court jury Tuesday. In a videotaped interview with two Tustin police investigators, Sturm recalled that one victim, Chad Chadwick, told him: "You don't have do this. . . . You can get help. Please don't do this. Think about what you're doing."

Defense and prosecution attorneys told jurors Monday that Gregory Allan Sturm bound, robbed, shot and killed three former co-workers at a Tustin auto parts store, a crime for which Sturm could be sent to the gas chamber. The major point of disagreement, the attorneys said in their opening statements, was what role, if any, cocaine played in the 21-year-old Tustin man's actions. The defense hopes to prove that he was under the influence of cocaine and thus avoid the death penalty. Deputy Dist.