RIVERSIDE--The death penalty phase of the ‘cold case’ murder of a former police officer begins Tuesday.

A jury deliberated 4-days before finding Leslie Parker guilty Monday of killing retired Riverside police officer Frederick Taylor.

It happened during a 1985 shootout while Taylor was working as a bank security guard at the Tyler Mall. Taylor was escorting two clerks as they collected bank deposits when they were confronted by Parker and another man who was never identified.

It wasn’t until 2007 that DNA blood samples connected Parker to the crime. He was arrested at his home in Perris. (INT)

Story Date: September 2, 2010