Jury gets Luxor bombing case
Jurors began deliberating Thursday in the case of two men charged in a 2007 fatal bombing at a Luxor parking garage.
The jury went home about 6:30 p.m. without reaching a verdict. Deliberations will continue this morning.
Omar Rueda-Denvers and Porfirio Duarte-Herrera could face the death penalty if they are convicted of first-degree murder.
The 2007 bombing killed Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio, a 24-year-old employee at Nathan's Famous hot dog restaurant in the Luxor food court.
Authorities say Dorantes Antonio was targeted because he was in a relationship with Rueda-Denvers' ex-girlfriend, Caren Chali.
Chali was with Dorantes Antonio at the time of the explosion, but was not hurt. She is also the mother of Rueda-Denvers' daughter.
Rueda-Denvers, 33, and Duarte-Herrera, 29, who are illegal immigrants, also face one count of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon and transportation or receipt of an explosive for unlawful purpose and two counts of possession of an explosive or incendiary device.
Prosecutor Nell Keenan during closing arguments described Rueda-Denvers as a jealous ex-lover who was obsessed with Chali and had once watched the couple having sex in a car in the Luxor parking lot.
Keenan said Rueda-Denvers' best friend, Duarte-Herrera, had "brilliant bomb making ability."
Meanwhile, Rueda-Denvers and Duarte-Herrera attempted to pin the crime on each other.
Duarte-Herrera's attorney, Clark Patrick, argued that Rueda-Denvers had the motive to kill Dorantes Antonio and the ability to make the bomb.
Rueda-Denvers' attorney, Christopher Oram, argued to the jury that his client didn't know what was in a coffee cup containing the bomb and that his mere presence at the Luxor did not prove he knew about the device.
Oram suggested to the jury that Duarte-Herrera enjoyed making the bomb and having it blow up.
"Some people may make a fire because they like to watch something burn. That's what they like to do," Oram said.
Prosecutors said components similar to those used to make the bomb were found at the home of Duarte-Herrera and the work site of Rueda-Denvers.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
