Calif. man re-convicted for killing police officers

Associated Press

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California man accused of gunning down two police officers 27 years ago has been found guilty of murder for a second time.

A Riverside Superior Court jury on Tuesday convicted 71-year-old Jackson Chambers Daniels Jr. of murder and found true the special circumstance that the officers were killed on duty.

Riverside officers Dennis Doty and Phil Trust were killed when they arrived at a La Sierra home to arrest Daniels, who had failed to appear in court to be sentenced for a bank robbery conviction after his appeal was rejected.

Daniels was found guilty of the murders and given the death penalty in 1983. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, saying Daniels' attorney was ineffective because he didn't bring mental health evidence before a jury.

The penalty phase of the trial begins Monday.