Public Safety
UPDATED: Jury Selection to Start for Pair Accused of Killing Store Clerk
MURRIETA (CNS) – Jury selection is slated to get underway Tuesday for the trial of two convicted felons accused in the robbery-killing of a Riverside convenience store clerk nearly three years ago.
John Lamont Bush, 33, of Los Angeles and Roderick Lamar Grandison, 50, of Compton allegedly gunned down 28-year-old Waqar Tanveer of Fontana in 2020.
Both men are charged with first-degree murder, three counts of armed robbery, three counts of gun assault, as well as one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bush alone is charged with a special circumstance allegation of killing in the course of a robbery, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
A third co-defendant, 36-year-old Marleiya Onshel Barnes of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty in 2021 to three counts of armed robbery and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
Pretrial motions were argued in the case last week, and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon is expected to summon multiple panels of prospective jurors to the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta on Tuesday and in the following days for screening as to their availability and qualifications.
Both defendants are being held at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta — Bush without bail, and Grandison in lieu of $1 million bail.
In addition to the Feb. 28, 2020, robbery that claimed Tanveer’s life, the defendants allegedly robbed several men in a separate holdup a few days later.
According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, Tanveer was working the register at the 7-Eleven at 6692 Indiana Ave. when the defendants allegedly confronted him about 3:25 a.m., demanding money.
A customer walked into the store a short time later and discovered the victim mortally wounded. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Police officers and sheriff’s deputies initiated a search of the area using K9 teams, but the robbers drove away, according to investigators.
The store’s security surveillance videotape was reviewed as part of the investigation, but detectives did not disclose how the defendants were ultimately identified as the alleged perpetrators.
The trio were arrested without incident the following week.
According to court records, Bush and Grandison have prior felony convictions in another jurisdiction, but the offenses weren’t listed.
Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
By: Pristine Villarreal
February 21, 2023
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