A former Evanston resident was convicted Thursday of murdering a gas attendant during a botched robbery attempt in 1998, police said.

After a three-day trial and eight hours of jury deliberation, Antoine R. Smith, 26, was convicted at about 8 p.m.of first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery at Circuit Court in Skokie, said Cmdr. Michael Perry of the Evanston Police Department.

“It’s a very big success (for the department),” Perry said. “This is a prime example of the partnership between the police and the community.”

The North Regional Major Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency investigation team, helped EPD with the investigation, which lasted more than two years.

“It’s a long process,” Perry said. “It goes to show there is no time on murder. It’s always an open investigation.”

Smith was serving a drug possession sentence when he was charged with murder. Perry said that eyewitness testimony proved to be one of the key factors leading to Smith’s arrest in May 2000.

The victim, 27-year-old James Pappas, was slain April 13, 1998, at Citgo Gas Station, 1925 Green Bay Road, during a struggle with a masked gunman attempting to rob the station at about 6:30 a.m.

Smith, the gunman, became angry with Pappas when the attendant could not open the store safe, prosecutors reportedly said.

According to prosecution reports, Pappas was shot in the back and beaten in the head with a fire extinguisher before Smith left the scene empty-handed.

Smith had planned the robbery with then-Citgo employee Robert Fomond, who was not present at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said.

The prosecution reportedly dropped a first-degree murder charge against the former Citgo employee in return for his testimony against Smith. Smith is scheduled to be sentenced June 13.