Man convicted of 2 counts of first-degree murder

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Baton Rouge man has been found guilty of two murders and may face the death penalty by the vote of a jury.

The Advocate (https://bit.ly/1ETsFfF ) reports Lee Turner Jr., 25, was convicted of first-degree murder Monday for shooting and killing Randy Chaney and Eddie Gurtner in March 2011. All three men worked at CarQuest Auto Parts.

Turner’s lead court-appointed attorney, Margaret Lagattuta, said she doesn’t believe the jury will “rush to judgment” in the penalty phase, which was scheduled to begin Tuesday. The defense witnesses in that phase will include family members, teachers, coaches and doctors.

Chaney, a 55-year-old assistant manager of the CarQuest on Staring Lane, was shot once in the back of the head. Gurtner, the 43-year-old manager of the Airline store, was shot 12 times, including several times in the back.

Turner’s first day of work at CarQuest’s Plank Road location was 11 days before the slayings.

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Information from: The Advocate, https://theadvocate.com