Death penalty may loom in killing case

Death penalty may loom in killing case
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/01/2008 09:28:30 PM PDT


A suspected gang member charged in San Bernardino County with the 2005 strangulation of a Loma Linda woman in her home will face the death penalty in neighboring Riverside County.
Justin Daniel Kirk faces charges in Riverside County in the deadly shooting of Robert Durazo at a Rancho Mirage hotel in May 2005 and firing at police officers on the 10 Freeway in Cabazon eight days later.

However, prosecutors in San Bernardino County ceded jurisdiction of the strangulation case to Riverside after concerns that they would have had to wait a long time before trying Kirk here.

Providing closure to the family of 53-year-old Lynn Lesley Gross, whose body was found on the kitchen floor of her Loma Linda home by a family friend, was a concern, explained Ron Webster, a deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County.

"We would otherwise have to wait until the Riverside case was completely done until we would get to start our case," Webster said by telephone Wednesday.

With two prior felony convictions, Kirk would have faced his third-strike in San Bernardino County and a possible life sentence, court records indicate.

Riverside County prosecutors accepted the Loma Linda case and charged Kirk with special circumstance for multiple murders, making him eligible for the death penalty, according to court records.

"After our review of the facts and circumstances surrounding the case, we believe that this is the type of case where the death penalty is the appropriate and only punishment," said Ingrid Wyatt, spokeswoman for the Riverside County District Attorney.
District Attorney Rod Pacheco made the decision after seeking input from high-ranking prosecutors, law enforcement agencys involved, case agents, the victim's family and the defense lawyers, Wyatt said.

Prosecutors announced the decision to seek the death penalty against Kirk during a hearing at the Larson Justice Center, in Indio, on Monday.

However, Kirk's defense lawyers believe the joinder of the cases from both counties isn't a done deal, explained San Bernardino County Deputy Public Defender David Virden, one of two lawyers representing Kirk.

A motion about the joinder, as well as motions regarding other aspects of the case, remain to be argued in court, Virden said.

The defense also aims to turn back the decision about the death penalty.

"It's my hope that that's not an irrevocable decision, that maybe we can persuade them to change their mind at some point," Virden said by telephone.

Kirk is charged with fatally shooting Durazo, 28, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Rancho Mirage on May 29, 2005. Ten days later, Kirk strangled Gross in her home in Loma Linda, according to prosecutors.

Police arrested Kirk eight days later, following a pursuit that began in Palm Springs, headed onto the westbound 10 Freeway and ended in a shootout with officers in Cabazon.

The incident caused the closure of the freeway for more than four hours, backing up traffic for miles. Kirk is scheduled to return to court June 23 in Riverside County.

mike.cruz@inlandnewspapers.com

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