Jury Returns Guilty Verdict In Seattle Killing

A King County Superior Court jury Wednesday convicted a man of first-degree murder in a stabbing that prompted a billboard plea for help in finding the victim’s killers.

Phillip Lara Lopez, 23, was found guilty of killing Rigel Brett Jones, 24, of Juanita. Prosecutors said Jones was killed for $65 and his ski jacket.

Jones was stabbed Feb. 4, 1996, and left to die near his pickup truck in a parking lot next to the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle’s Pioneer Square district.

After his death, Jones’ picture was displayed for a month on a billboard just a few feet away from where his body was found, and a $10,000 reward was offered. The billboard read: “Were you here when I was murdered? Did you see me with my truck?”

Under state sentencing guidelines, Lopez faces a prison term of between 30 years, 10 months and 41 years, one month on his murder conviction. In addition, the jury’s finding that he used a deadly weapon could add two years to his term. Sentencing will be in June.

A second defendant - Darrell Everybodytalksabout, 40 - also was charged in the case, but a mistrial was declared after a key witness was caught in a lie and charged with perjury.

Prosecutors are still considering whether to retry Everybodytalksabout, prosecutor’s office spokesman Dan Donohoe said.