Man found guilty of murder for shaking California liquor store clerk from car

A Los Angeles man who killed a Long Beach liquor store clerk by shaking him off of his moving car two years ago was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder last week, authorities said.

Jurors also found Jamal Darby, 35, not guilty of robbery when they returned their verdict on Thursday, Oct. 27, said Matthew Krasnowski, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Darby is scheduled to be sentenced in Long Beach Superior Court on Dec. 13.

On July 23, 2020, Darby walked into a liquor store in the 300 block of Anaheim Street, grabbed items inside the store and walked out, Long Beach police said following his arrest in August 2020.

The store clerk, Victor Talavera, 57, of Long Beach followed Darby and jumped onto the hood of Darby’s car to keep him from driving off with the items, police said.

Darby drove off anyway and Talavera clinged to the hood for multiple blocks, police said. Video showed Darby swerving while driving at a moderate speed, shaking Talavera from the hood and onto the street. The clerk died of injuries from the fall.

Police found Darby near his home in Los Angeles driving the same car seen in video footage of the death.

The trial lasted less than a week. Jurors deliberated for about three hours before reaching their verdict, according to court records.