Poker Murder Suspects Convicted

Bakersfield, CA - The two young men accused of trying to steal a pickup truck at a poker game and shooting one man to death were both convicted on a battery of charges Tuesday afternoon.

But in an unusual twist, the men, Johnte Allen and John Thomas, Jr., smiled several times even though they could spend the rest of their lives behind bars.


"I don't think it's one bit funny," Judge Michael Bush said to the young men when he saw them giggling after the reading of the verdict.

Jurors deliberated for one day, and found Allen and Thomas guilty of the 2006 murder of Jesse Harkleroad.

The two suspects disrupted a poker game in a garage on Emery Avenue in south Bakersfield around midnight on Oct. 19, 2006.

They held Harkleroad and three other men at gunpoint until one of them could give them the keys to a pickup truck in the driveway. Allen and Thomas then opened fire, killing Harkleroad and wounding the three other men, driving off in the truck.

Police found the truck and the suspects later that morning at Planz Park, near the murder scene.

Harkleroad's family and friends called the convictions bittersweet, since they will not bring him back, but they are relieved justice was handed down to those found responsible.

Allen and Thomas were each convicted of nine felony counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and robbery. They will be sentenced November 12, where they will face a 25 years-to-life sentence in prison.

Turn To 23

News Added: 01 October, 2008

Number of views : 688