Killer of convenience store clerk receives life sentence

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

At age 26 Arthur Robles already had spent a chunk of his life in juvenile and adult jails in California.

Now he will spend the rest of his life in a Nevada prison for the shooting death of a convenience store clerk.

A District Court jury late Tuesday decided that a life prison sentence without the possibility of parole was the appropriate sentence for the March 1996 slaying of Billie Jo Johnson.

After three hours of deliberations the jury rejected the option of the death penalty that prosecutors had sought. The jury also rejected the lightest sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

While prosecutors argued that Robles is a career criminal who deserved no breaks, defense attorneys noted that Robles has functioned well behind bars and there was no reason to give him the death sentence.

Robles was on parole from California -- where he had been convicted of burglary, robbery and escape -- when he went into the 7-Eleven store at Tropicana Avenue and Spencer Street with a rifle concealed under his coat.

Johnson, 44, was shot once in the chest and died behind the counter where she had worked for just a month.

A delivery truck driver followed Robles out of the store and copied down the car's license plate number and gave it to police.

The car belonged to a friend who told police he gave Robles a ride to the convenience store to buy formula for his baby. The friend said he waited in the car while Robles was inside.

Robles was tracked down at his girlfriend's apartment and arrested after he tried to flee on foot. The rifle with a 30-shot magazine was found inside the apartment living room.