Killer Heads for Death Row

A man who fatally shot a Temecula liquor store clerk was sent to death row today.

Judge F. Paul Dickerson signed a death warrant for Marcus Fletcher, 27, who was found guilty in July of killing Rafi Ibrahim, 32, while robbing in Old Town.

He had an accomplice, Temecula resident Dale Dante Thomas, who is scheduled to be sentenced in December. To read about his situation, .

To read about what the two did, .

Fletcher sat in the courtroom at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley dressed in a red prison uniform, his hands shackled around his waist, staring emotionlessly at papers lying on the desk in front of him with his attorneys sitting at his sides.

Before the judge signed the warrant, defense attorney Michael Duncan urged him to show him mercy.

"The question of whether he should (get the death penalty) or not is still troubling," he told the judge.

Death penalty proponents usually offer only a few rationalizations, and none are valid in this case, Duncan told the judge. First, it sends a message to people considering committing the same crime.

"It sends no message. The hundreds of thousands of (people) in the street who will consider (committing a similar crime) will live and die without ever hearing of Marcus Fletcher," he said.

Some think justice is served when a person is executed, he said. "We gain nothing when we adopt the attitude Mr. Fletcher adopted, when we kill out of revenge," he said.

Lastly, proponents say the death penalty brings closure for the victim's family, Duncan said. "There will be no closure for anybody with a sentence of death," because Fletcher will likely sit on death row for so long, he will die of natural causes, the attorney said.

Prosecutor Sam Kaloustian argued in favor of the death penalty, saying Fletcher deserved the punishment.

The killer shot to death Ibrahim, and then stood over his body and mocked him.
"I'm put in the position to speak for the person who's not here today," he said.

Ibrahim was persecuted in his home country, Iraq, because of his Christian religion. So he immigrated almost penniless to the U.S. and worked to bring his family, Kaloustian said today and during previous hearings.

Fletcher also has a criminal background, and his crimes were growing more violent each time, he said.

"Sentence him to die because that's what he deserves," Kaloustian said.
The judge agreed with the prosecutor. "In the opinion of the court, the defendant is a remorseless animal," he said.

A charge stemming from the alleged killing of a man in San Diego was dismissed, though charges may be pressed in that county later, according to the judge and Kaloustian.

To read about the San Diego killing, .

A key piece of evidence in both the Temecula and San Diego killings -- a black handgun -- was nearly lost during the trial, though found and retained in case it is needed for another case. To read about what happened to the handgun, .