THOUSAND OAKS : Simi Man Guilty in Pizza Shop Robbery

A Simi Valley man was convicted Friday of robbing a Thousand Oaks pizza shop last year, but jurors deadlocked on whether he committed two other holdups.

Prosecutors have until Tuesday to decide whether to retry Keith Groom, 21, on robbery charges stemming from holdups last summer at Lamppost Pizza on Lindero Canyon Road in Thousand Oaks and Domino’s Pizza on Michael Drive in Newbury Park.

Jurors deadlocked 6 to 6 on the Lamppost robbery, and 8 to 4 for not guilty on the Domino’s holdup.

But the panel was unanimous in finding Groom guilty of the June 18 robbery of Pizza Hut on Avenida de Los Arboles in Thousand Oaks. Jurors could not agree, however, on whether Groom was armed.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox said she had an eyewitness who identified Groom in the Pizza Hut robbery. Although the robber wore a mask, a shop employee saw Groom in the parking lot about a minute before the holdup and knew he was the robber because of his clothing and size, Fox said.

Witnesses were unable to identify the masked robbers in the Lamppost and Domino’s holdups, the prosecutor said.

Groom’s co-defendant in those two robberies is Christopher Bass, 21, of Goleta. Bass, who is awaiting trial, is also charged with a Camarillo yogurt shop robbery, during which two female employees were sexually assaulted.

Groom received a separate trial so jurors hearing evidence against him would not be prejudiced by the facts of the yogurt shop robbery.

He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for his one robbery conviction, Fox said.