OAKLAND -- An Alameda County Superior Court jury recommended the death penalty Monday for Oakland resident Christopher Evans for murdering two people at a hair salon eight years ago.

Jurors deliberated for the equivalent of two full days before delivering their verdict against Evans, 36.

On July 16, jurors convicted Evans of one count of first-degree murder for the death of hairdresser Tina Marie Rose, 28, and one count of second-degree murder for the death of Tommy Lee Brown, 41, in a shooting at Rose's salon near the corner of 85th Avenue and International Boulevard in Oakland on April 27, 2001.

Jurors also found Evans guilty of the special circumstance of committing multiple murders.

Evans' attorneys, William DuBois and Alex Selvin, told jurors that Evans suffered from "post-concussion syndrome" and didn't know what was going on when he killed Rose and Brown because Rose's brother had punched him in the head and knocked him out in a confrontation a short time before he opened fire.

But prosecutor Michael Nieto told jurors that although Evans may have been shaken up when he was punched, he knew what he was doing when he shot Rose and Brown.

Nieto said Derrick Rose punched Evans a short time after Evans searched Rose's pockets as he walked down the block.

Evans testified that the "pocket check" was a routine prank played all the time on the streets of East Oakland.

But Nieto said Evans was a drug-dealer who was protecting his turf by making sure he wasn't robbed by someone he hadn't seen before.

Derrick Rose didn't appreciate having a stranger check his pockets and argued with Evans outside his sister's beauty salon, Nieto said.

Tina Marie Rose, who knew Evans, came outside and told Evans that the person he was arguing with was her brother.

Evans apologized, but Derrick Rose was still upset and returned about 40 minutes later with friends. He then punched Evans.

DuBois told jurors in his closing argument in the guilt phase of the case that Evans was "confused" and a friend of his put a gun in his hand.

Nieto said Evans brandished the gun inside the hair salon and shot Brown when he tried to stop Evans from shooting Tina Marie Rose.

Evans then shot Rose while she was trying to run away, Nieto said.

Evans was on the run for nearly eight months after the shooting but he was arrested in Reno in December 2001, shortly before a segment on him was scheduled to air on the "America's Most Wanted" television program.

Nieto said that jurors rejected the defense's claim that Evans suffered from post-concussion syndrome.

He said a surveillance video from a market near the shooting scene depicted Evans acting calmly and deliberately before and after the shooting.

The prosecutor said Evans has two prior felony convictions for possession of rock cocaine for sale and also has engaged in violent behavior on the street and has been involved in altercations while being held in custody.

Evans is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Vernon Nakahara on Feb. 3. He's also scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 29 for a hearing on pretrial motions, including a motion for a new trial.