Man gets death penalty for killing church volunteer in Glendale: MCAO

GLENDALE, Ariz. - A suspect convicted of killing a Glendale man nearly 10 years ago has been sentenced to death, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said.

On June 24, 2014, 72-year-old Mark Woodruff was found dead in his vehicle, which was running and parked in his driveway. Investigators say Woodruff was on his way home from volunteering at a local church when he was shot in the head.

"During the 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.," MCAO said.

Two days after Woodruff was killed, 34-year-old Gustin Ray Woodman Jr. was pulled over and a .9mm handgun was found in his car.

"When detectives analyzed the gun, they discovered a spent 9MM shell casing stuck in the chamber of the gun," MCAO said. "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."

Investigators say Woodman Jr. admitted to seeing Woodruff at a gas station and decided to follow Woodruff and rob him.

Last October, Woodman Jr. was found guilty of multiple charges, including murder.

"Earlier this week, Woodman was sentenced to death for the first-degree murder charge and sentenced to an additional 15.75 years in prison for the remaining charges," MCAO said.