TERRE HAUTE -- After five hours of deliberation, a jury in Vigo County on Friday found William Allsup Jr., 34, of Terre Haute, guilty of the murder of cab driver Jerry Need on the night of December 23, 1992.

Need was a Worthington native with friends and family still in the Greene County area.

Allsup was convicted of one count of murder, one count of felony murder and one count of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury stemming from the shooting death of Need in a robbery gone wrong.

A murder charge against Allsup's accomplice and co-conspirator, Lamar Perry of Indianapolis, was dropped one week ago when Perry agreed to testify against Allsup and plead guilty to the lesser charge of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury.

Perry is currently serving 50 years in the California Department of Corrections for six counts of armed robbery but was recently extradited to Vigo County.

In this week's trial, Perry detailed how the two had planned and carried out the robbery which resulted in the shooting.

Perry testified he and Allsup had driven to the Terre Haute K-Mart where Allsup called for a cab to transport him to the Gaslight Estates Trailer Park located west of Third Street and Springhill Road on the south side of Terre Haute. Perry said he then followed the cab in another vehicle. Once in the trailer park, Allsup attempted to rob Need, using a shotgun for intimidation. Perry testified he saw Allsup and Need arguing right before Allsup pulled the shotgun out and shot the cab driver. Need was later found in a pool of blood on the icy street, his cab gone.

Following the shooting, Perry testified he followed Allsup as he drove the cab to a field near Prairieton where they searched the car but found no money.

Perry's story on the stand was that he saw Allsup shoot Need inside the cab, then drag the body out onto the street. But other witnesses, including the coroner and the officers who worked the scene, testified that no blood was found inside the cab leading to speculation that Need was shot outside the car instead of inside as Perry had said.

Other witnesses for the defense provided an alibi for Allsup's whereabouts on that night, and disputed whether Allsup was the same man who had been seen with Perry at K-Mart and driving the cab away from the trailer park. The alleged murder weapon, a .20 gauge shotgun, was never recovered. Perry testified he had thrown it in the Wabash River.

Allsup is set to be sentenced on Sept. 6.