Man Convicted of 1994 Killing of Diamond Bar Gas Station Employee

DIAMOND BAR, CA - A man convicted of the shooting death of a cashier during an attempted robbery at a Diamond Bar gas station more than two decades ago is facing a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.

Jurors deliberated about an hour on Tuesday before finding Lino Jesus Acero guilty of first-degree murder for the Nov. 18, 1994, killing of 42-year-old Mahfouz Ghabour at an Arco gas station.

The panel also found true a special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of an attempted robbery, along with an allegation that Acero, now 38, personally used a handgun during the commission of the crime.

The jury saw surveillance video of the attack, in which Acero -- then 17 years old -- is seen entering an employee hatch to get behind the counter before pulling out a gun and shooting Ghabour in the chest, according to Deputy District Attorney Ross Alari.

A civilian witness who was at the gas station at the time of the shooting identified Acero as the gunman, the prosecutor said.

Acero and another man fled the scene empty-handed, according to the prosecutor.

Homicide detectives re-opened the case nearly 10 years after the killing. Surveillance video of the attack was posted on "America's Most Wanted," leading to a tip about the gunman, but detectives needed to conduct further investigation, Alari said.

Acero was arrested in 2014, but the second suspect is still at large.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock