A jury has imposed the death penalty on a 34-year-old man convicted in the 2014 killing of a church volunteer on his way home from his shift at a place of worship in Glendale, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

Gustin Ray Woodman Jr. was sentenced this week following his October conviction in the first-degree murder of 72-year-old Mark Woodruff.

Woodruff was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the early morning of June 24, 2014. He was in the driver’s seat of his car, which was still running on his driveway.

During an initial investigation, Glendale Police Department detectives found evidence that another gunshot had been fired through the car door, but only one 9mm shell casing was found near the victim, according to a release from the MCAO.

“Two days later, officers conducted a traffic stop on Woodman and while searching the vehicle found a 9mm Taurus handgun,” the release stated.

“When detectives analyzed the gun, they discovered a spent 9mm shell casing stuck in the chamber of the gun. The casing was analyzed by the Glendale Police Department’s Forensic Unit and found to be associated with the 9mm shell casing found at the scene of Woodruff’s murder.” 

Detectives learned in an interview that Woodman had spotted the victim at a gas station, saw money in his wallet and decided to follow the victim and rob him, according to the release.

Last October, a jury found Woodman guilty of one count of first-degree murder, one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery with a deadly weapon, armed robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person.

In addition to the death sentence for the murder, Woodman faces an additional 15.75 years in prison for the remaining charges, according to MCAO.

“I commend our prosecutors and the Glendale Police Department Homicide Unit for their work over the last 10 years finding justice for this victim,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.

“I hope this sentence can bring some semblance of closure to the Woodruff family and the community of faith he loved so much.”

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.