Wife, Another Man, Convicted In San Bernardino Killing
SAN BERNARDINO – Jurors convicted two people, a woman who was charged along with another man, with killing her husband in a brutal murder last year.
John Cone ran a TV repair shop out of his home
On Tuesday, Laurie Cone, 47, and Gary Michael Gallion, 30, were found guilty in charges they killed John “Jack” Cone, 64, at his San Bernardino home during the early morning hours on April 2, 2012. The verdicts were read in San Bernardino Superior Court where Judge Michael Smith was presiding over a case in which both Cone and Gallion were found guilty of first degree murder, second degree murder and first degree residential burglary. Both face sentences of up to life in state prison without possibility of parole. Sentencing will take place on April 9.
Jack Cone, a local TV repairman, was killed in his home on North Sierra Way, which also served as his repair shop. Prosecutors also charged Laurie Cone with conspiring to use Charles Duke and Nathan Diaz to kill her husband. She was found guilty on those charges as well.
Laurie Cone in her booking photo from last year
Jack Cone was found beaten to death. During the investigation, police discovered that the victim’s truck and several guns and ammunition were taken from his residence. Investigators uncovered a conspiracy in which Laurie Cone talked Gallion into committing the crime while she gambled at the San Manuel Casino in nearby Highland.
Both defendants testified last week that they had not met until after their arrest. Laurie Cone also testified that Jack Cone “was her best friend.”
Gary Gallions alibi was that he was stealing TV's from somewhere else at the time.
Laurie Cone’s motive, according to prosecutors, was that she wanted her husband dead and also wanted his property. Part of the evidence included videotape of Jack Cone’s property, which included two views of a man that looked similar to Gallion breaking into the home and loading guns and televisions into a truck. Gallion, who said he was stealing televisions at hotels on Hospitality Blvd. in San Bernardino during the time of the murder, testified that he was not that man seen in the video.
The Cones, who started suffering from marital problems in 2007, had been married for 29 years.
Read More:
The Sun: Laurie Cone, Gary Gallion guilty in San Bernardino TV repairman murder
Daily Bulletin: Laurie Cone, Gary Gallion found guilty in San Bernardino TV repairman murder
CrimeVoice: Two more arrested in murder conspiracy; police still investigating
