Crime & Safety

Key Evidence in Liquor Store Murder Case Destroyed

The gun used in the murder of a liquor store clerk in Old Town may have been confiscated and disposed of by the sheriff's department years ago, an investigator said.

A key piece of evidence in the case of a murdered liquor store clerk may have been destroyed.

A gun that could connect the murder of Rafi Ibrahim, 34, of Temecula, to the slaying of Kedran Howard, 23, of San Diego, was possibly confiscated and disposed of by the sheriff’s department, an investigator said.

The gun was likely used in the accidental suicide of 18-year-old Keeyon Cross, an ex-running back for the Rancho Verde Mustangs, in April of 2005, said David Grande, an investigator with the District Attorney’s office.

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The gun belonged to Cross’ friend, Durrell Peters, who the DA suspects bought it from Dale Dante Thomas, a Temecula resident and the mastermind behind the deadly liquor store robbery.

The young football star and the gun's owner were sitting in a parked car in a garage in Perris playing with the weapon, according to news reports.

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Cross pointed the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger thinking it was not loaded. It was, and he was killed instantly, reports stated.

The gun was confiscated by investigators after the suicide and later destroyed, Grande said.

Numerous forensics experts analyzed bullets from the Temecula and San Diego killings, and the results were contentious during the trial.

The results were inconclusive, the defense argued. Experts said the bullets could be from the same gun, prosecution told the jury.

Marcus Fletcher, 27, of San Diego, was charged with murdering the two men with Thomas’ gun. The Temecula killing happened only a few days before the Cross suicide.

Fletcher was accused of walking into on Front Street wearing a mask and demanding money.

Just then, a customer walked in and he fired several times at him. For that, Fletcher and Thomas, who was allegedly waiting outside in an escape car, face attempted murder charges.

When Ibrahim tried to escape with a bag of money, Fletcher shot him in the torso, according to testimony given on Tuesday.

To read more about the liquor store killing, .

Fletcher was also charged with killing Howard on a street in San Diego in what investigators believe was a gang vendetta.

To read more about the killing, .

If convicted, Fletcher could face the death penalty. Thomas struck a plea deal with the DA in exchange for a release date.


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