Jury convicts in cold-case killings
SANDPOINT - A jury in California has convicted a suspect in a cold-case homicide in which a Bonner County man was once accused of assisting.
A jury in San Bernardino County convicted James Linzy Franklin of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, court records show. The verdicts followed a nine-day trial that included two days of deliberations which concluded on Wednesday.
A sentencing hearing for Franklin, 44, is pending.
Franklin was accused of luring Mark Adamson and Joseph Riley to a remote area and murdering them. Adamson and Riley were reportedly attempting to purchase ephedrine, an ingredient used to manufacture methamphetamine, when they were robbed of the buy money and slain.
The two men were last seen in July 1995 and their remains are still unaccounted for.
Barstow Police detectives arrested Franklin and Christian Leonard Bunty Sr. in 2012. Bunty allegedly played a role in the double homicide and later relocated to Idaho, ultimately settling in Cocolalla.
Franklin was already serving a life sentence for murder in an unrelated homicide in Big Bear, Calif., when he was charged with the slayings of Adamson and Riley.
Barstow Police alleged that Franklin and Bunty were part of a crew that robbed drug dealers in hardscrabble sectors of the Los Angeles area prior to the killing of Adamson and Riley.
Bunty pleaded not guilty and friends and family rallied to his defense.
The charges against Bunty, however, were dismissed in 2014 by motion of a deputy district attorney and he was released from custody. The deputy DA declined to say what prompted the motion.
Barstow Police announced Franklin's conviction on Friday and said they are still investigating the case.
"Unfortunately, the bodies of Adamson and Riley have never been recovered and the Barstow Police Department continues to investigate all leads regarding this case and the possible location of their remains," Chief Albert S. Ramirez Jr. said in a news release.
Those with information about the case are urged to call Det. Keith Libby at 706-255-5134 or the Barstow Police Dispatch Center at 706-256-2211. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call the WE TIP hotline at 800-78-CRIME.