Jury: Sapp Brothers shooter is guilty, attorney will appeal

The jury has found Sapp Brothers shooter Roger Allen Malcolm guilty of first-degree felony murder for shooting a security guard in the neck.

The verdict came back a little after 4 p.m., after the jury broke to deliberate at 11:30 a.m.

Malcolm's attorney, Rudy Batista, said he would appeal.

"The evidence showed it was clear Mr. Malcolm was attacked, he was provoked, but the jury disagreed and that is our criminal justice system ... We have several strong appellate issues."

Third District Judge Paul Maughan set sentencing for Aug. 18. The offense carries a 15 years-to-life sentence.

Both sides in the Malcolm trial murder had agreed on this much: There was no reason for security guard Verne Jenkins to die at his job at a Salt Lake truck stop last year.

But they disagreed about who was to blame for what both describe as a tragedy.

Prosecutor Alicia Cook contended that Malcolm, 51, was guilty of murder for shooting Jenkins in the neck, an act that jammed his airway with damaged tissue and caused him to quickly die from suffocation and bleeding. Cook said Malcolm had been yelling at cashiers for not waiting on him fast enough and Jenkins was simply trying to escort Malcolm off the property.

Afterward, Cook said she thought the verdict was the "appropriate decision in this case."

In contrast, Batista said his client was in the process of trying to leave when Jenkins, for some unknown reason, went over, grabbed Malcolm violently and tried to put him in a choke hold. Malcolm fired only in self-defense because he feared for his life thinking that Jenkins was reaching for a weapon, according to Batista.

It was later discovered that Jenkins was unarmed.

Malcolm was convicted of killing the 31-year-old security guard on Dec. 26, 2007 at the Sapp Brothers truck stop, 1953 W. California Ave.

During closing arguments on Thursday, Cook went over videotapes from truck stop's security cameras and paused them several times, using a tiny flashlight to point out certain details.

Once the jury left for its deliberations at 11:30 a.m., the group was permitted access to a laptop computer that contains the videotapes from the truck stop security cameras so jurors can examine them more closely.

Cook told the jury it is true that Jenkins put a hand on Malcolm's shoulder, but witnesses testified that it appeared to them he was trying to escort Malcolm out, or to detain or restrain him.

"What Verne did did not justify getting shot," she said.