Teen convicted in slaying of furniture store manager

Ashley Furniture Homestore manager Robert Bills routinely brought in homemade cookies for co-workers and was known for his bubbly, cheery personality.

He was gunned down in front of the store in 2007 during a failed robbery attempt.

On Wednesday a jury convicted Thayer Burton, 18, of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in Bills' death.

The jury deliberated for about two hours before reaching a verdict.

Burton showed little emotion in court but his relatives wept after the verdict was announced.

One relative ran out of the courtroom before the clerk finished reading the verdict. Her sobs could be heard inside the courtroom.

A jury is expected to decide his punishment this week. He is not facing the death penalty.

Burton's attorney and prosecutors declined to comment after the verdict.

Authorities said Burton pistol-whipped Bills and then shot him in the back during a robbery attempt in the store's parking lot the day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping days.

At the time of the attack, Bills, 53, was on his way to make a bank deposit. He had about $22,000 in cash and checks at the time.

Burton's cousin was dating an employee at Ashley Furniture Homestore, Lucia Reveles, 24. She is set to go to trial on murder charges next month.

Authorities said she provided inside information to Burton about Bills' schedule.

Burton's attorney, Bret Whipple, told the jury that the investigation into Bills' murder was inadequate. He said police never tested for DNA under Bills' fingernails even though there was a struggle.

Whipple also tried to shift blame for the slaying to Burton's cousin, who may have committed the slaying and wanted to shift blame to Burton. The cousin testified that Burton confessed to the killing.

On the night of the slaying, an Ashley employee saw Burton lurking near the store wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, Deputy District Attorney Sonia Jimenez said. Police later found a black hooded sweatshirt with the victim's blood on it inside Burton's closet.

Burton, who testified in his defense Tuesday, told the jury the sweatshirt wasn't his. He said he wore a different size sweatshirt than the bloody one. He also said the bloody sweatshirt might have belonged to a relative and was placed in his closet by mistake.

Police also found Burton's fingerprint on Bills' vehicle, which was parked in the store's parking lot on Rainbow Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue.

"Thayer Burton killed Robert Bills," Jimenez said during her closing statement. "He needs to be held responsible for his actions."

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.