Riverside jurors recommended the death penalty Tuesday for Earl Elllis Green, the man convicted of shooting Riverside police Officer Ryan Bonaminio at point-blank range as the officer pleaded for his life.

After 3-1/2 hours of deliberations, the panel returned the decision after hearing arguments from prosecutors that the penalty should fit the crime, while a defense lawyer asked the jury to spare Green's life, saying vengeance is not the same as justice.

“We are pleased with this verdict and the hard work done by this jury,” Dist. Atty. Paul Zellerbach said. “This case is a perfect example -– the murder of a peace officer in the line of duty -– why we need the death penalty and why it needs to be carried out.”

Green, who remains in custody with no bail, is scheduled to return to the Hall of Justice in Riverside on June 25 to be sentenced by Judge Jean Pfeifer Leonard.

Green was found guilty last month of first-degree murder with special circumstances that made him eligible for the death penalty.

During the trial, defense attorneys acknowledged Green fired the shots that killed Bonaminio in a church parking lot in November 2010 after Green led the officer on a foot chase through Riverside's Fairmount Park.

The attorneys had sought a conviction on a lesser charge that would not carry the death penalty.

The 46-year-old convicted felon, then on parole, jumped out of a stolen truck that was being pursued by police after it had been involved in a hit-and-run, police officials said. Bonaminio, 27, followed Green into the park.