Judge Considers Life Sentence For Teen Convicted Gas Station Murders
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Miami-Dade judge will consider what sort of sentence to hand down to a teen convicted of killing a couple at a Miami Gardens gas station.
Eric Ellington, 19, is facing life in prison for the murders of 24-yer old Kennia Duran and 23-year old Julian Soler.
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At a hearing Friday, the judge listened to legal arguments and statements from witnesses and family members. At the end of the proceeding, he said he would take what he had heard under advisement. He also stated that he would be researching the law in light of the Supreme Court ruling of life sentences for juveniles.
Police said the couple was ambushed by Ellington, Dylan McFarlane and Wayne Williams at a Mobile gas station off 57th Avenue and the Palmetto Expressway on July 25th, 2011. Soler and Durran were forced out of Soler's 1997 Ford Mustand Cobra and shot, even though they had their hands up. It was an attempted robbery but nothing was stolen.
Soler died at the scene and Durran was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital where she died.
The shooting was captured on surveillance video from the store.
Before his the trial Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Ellington, who was 16 at the time, confessed that he shot Soler multiple times because "he didn't look scared enough."
According to police, it was Williams who shot and killed Durran.
Ellington was convicted of two counts of first degree murder among other charges. Prosecutors say he was offered a plea deal before his trial started, but rejected it.
His sentencing is scheduled for October 6th at 11 a.m.
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