Accused killer rejects plea deal; death penalty trial set
A Raleigh man accused of killing two people and robbing several gas stations and convenience stores more than five years ago rejected a plea deal Monday that would have ensured him avoiding a death sentence.
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Armond Devega, 32, is charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and nine counts of robbery in connection with crimes between January and October 2008.
Anthony Dwayne Scarborough, 32, was killed during a home invasion at 508 Tartan Circle on Feb. 13, 2008. Authorities said Devega and Scarborough knew each other while they were imprisoned at the Johnston Correctional Center and that Devega might have held a grudge against Scarborough.
Stephanie Powell Anderson, 39, was killed at a Wilco-Hess gas station at 1741 Trawick Road on April 10, 2008. Police said she was ambushed as she arrived at the station, and she was shot when she was unable to open the store’s safe.
Wake County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Devega, but they offered him a deal Monday to take the death penalty off the table if he would plead guilty.
Devega didn't go along with the deal, and jury selection in the capital case was set for Feb. 24.
The case is the oldest pending criminal case in Wake County.
Ballistics evidence showed the same weapon was used in both homicides, as well as the shooting of a clerk at the Mexico Lindo check-cashing business Sept. 10, 2008, and the May 7, 2008, robbery of a Subway restaurant on Six Forks Road.
Devega also is charged in the robberies of two other Subways, a Bojangles' restaurant and the Capital Food Mart convenience store, as well as two holdups at the same Wilco-Hess gas station.
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