Dec. 16
TEXAS----new execution date
Kunkle given 6th rendezvous with death----Appeal not heard; attorney
predicts still another stay
A San Antonio man sentenced to die for the 1984 murder of a Corpus Christi
man has received his 6th date with death.
District Judge Nanette Hasette on Wednesday signed a death warrant for
Troy Kunkle, setting a Jan. 19 execution date, Assistant District Attorney
Doug Norman said. Kunkle was convicted of murdering Steven Horton, 31, in
1984.
The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed Kunkle's execution twice on the day of
his execution, most recently in a 5-4 order last month, while his
attorneys filed appeals. His attorneys had argued that Kunkle's history of
drug and alcohol abuse was not properly considered as mitigating evidence
at trial.
The high court on Monday declined to hear the appeal, even though one
justice said Kunkle's sentence clearly violated the Constitution. In a
concurring opinion, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that he
initially had agreed to the stay because justices believed they had
authority to review the case. However, upon closer review, justices
realized the appeal was based on state law.
Kunkle's attorney Danalynn Recer, of the Gulf Region Advocacy Center based
in Houston, said she will continue to fight the execution. Recer said
there already is litigation pending and more is forthcoming.
"It is premature to be setting a date," Recer said. "What I think it means
is that we will have another stay. I don't know what the purpose is,
because there are serious constitutional issues being litigated and that
litigation is nowhere near completion."
Norman said the District Attorney's Office requested a new execution date
because they believe Kunkle has run out of appeals.
"We think he has at the state level, and we are pretty certain that he has
at the federal level," Norman said. "His lawyers think they have another
argument they can make to the federal courts involving the
constitutionality of his sentence."
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Kunkle, 18 at the
time of the killing, and 3 friends were visiting Corpus Christi from San
Antonio. They picked up Horton, who was walking along Paul Jones Avenue,
and demanded his wallet, which contained $13. Kunkle then shot Horton in
the head, according to state reports.
After the death, Kunkle reportedly quoted lyrics from heavy metal band
Metallica's song "No Remorse," from the album "Kill 'em All," when he
said, "Another day, another death, another sorrow, another breath."
(source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
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Prosecution Rests -- Defense begins to make Ramirez case
Capital murder defendant Juan Raul Navarro Ramirez calmly rolled up his
shirt sleeves Tuesday and showed the jury his tattoo-covered arms -
bearing tiny symbols police say stand for the Tri-City Bombers.
The tattoos - which resemble a rifles cross hairs - are on each of
Ramirezs biceps under the words "ghost" and "town," which gang members
call Ramirezs home town of Donna, according to Edinburg Police Detective
Robert Alvarez.
Alvarez, who the prosecution called to testify as a gang expert, said the
cross-hair symbol contains the TCB initials and is one of many used by
members of the gang, which is also called the Bombitas.
The testimony came on the last day of the prosecutions case against
Ramirez, the 1st of 11 alleged Tri-City Bombers to stand trial for the
shooting deaths of 6 men on Jan. 5, 2003, at 2915 E. Monte Cristo Road in
Edinburg.
Ramirezs trial began Nov. 29 in Judge Noe Gonzalezs 370 th state District
Court in the Hidalgo County Courthouse. He pleaded innocent.
The victims - Jimmy Edward Almendariz, 22; brothers Jerry Eugene Hidalgo,
24, and Ray Hidalgo, 30; brothers Juan Delgado Jr., 32, and Juan Delgado
III, 20; and Ruben Rolando Castillo, 32 - died from multiple gunshot
wounds.
The gunmen, who wore masks and jackets that said "Police," left the mother
of the Hidalgo brother, 52-year-old Rosie Gutierrez, alive, tied to her
bed in the larger of the 2 homes. The cousin of the Delgado brothers, Luis
Villa, 35, escaped by jumping out the window of the smaller home. Villa,
35, who is in federal custody on charges of illegally entering the U.S.,
refused to testify in front of the jury.
Alvarez, who also investigated the case, testified that the Hidalgo
brothers were members of the rival gang Texas Chicano Brotherhood, which
was once part of the Tri-City Bombers but separated in the 1990s. The two
gangs were known to attack each other.
Ramirez has told law enforcement officials he is a member of the Bombitas,
as have several other of the codefendants, Alvarez said.
The prosecutions final witness, Edinburg Police Cpl. Edgar Ruiz, testified
he interviewed Ramirez at the Edinburg Police Department on Jan. 29, 2003,
the day police found and arrested Ramirez in Hargill. Ruiz told prosecutor
Cregg Thompson that Ramirez did not appear intoxicated.
"He looked healthy, he didnt look nervous. He was just cooperative," Edgar
Ruiz said.
During a pre-trial hearing, Ramirez had said he was under the influence of
sedatives when he gave police a recorded statement admitting he
participated in the early morning raid to recover guns and weapons. Jurors
heard the statement earlier in the trial, where Ramirez said he and the
other accused men did not find they drugs they sought at the house. He did
not identify the shooter.
Defense attorney Alma Garza began Ramirezs defense by calling Edinburg
Police Detective Ramiro Ruiz, who said at one point police investigated
other suspects, including Villa, but was later cleared of involvement with
the killings.
She then called Gutierrez, who suffers from leg pain and uses a cane to
walk, and had testified earlier in the trial.
In response to Garzas questions, Gutierrez said at the time of the
killings she was having an affair with Villa, and her son Ray knew about
it.
"One time he got upset but he got over it," she said, but denied fighting
with her son about the relationship.
Another woman, Marissa Martinez, 32, testified she and a friend went to
the smaller home around midnight Jan. 4, for a small party celebrating
Jerry Hidalgos release from state prison that day.
She said Villa, whom she met for the 1st time that night, showed her
marijuana "stacked to the ceiling " in the front room of the house. She
stayed until about 5 a.m., and observed several cars come and go from the
home, as well as people using cocaine and marijuana.
At the time, Martinez was the girlfriend of Roberto Cantu, 25, also
charged in the killings. She said she told Cantu about the marijuana and
that Jerry Hidalgo was a member of the opposing gang. Cantu was upset at
her for attending, she said.
Martinez said she made plans to meet Villa at Graham Central Station the
next night, but did not make the meeting. The night of the shootings,
Martinez said she spoke to Villa around 3 a.m. and visited him at the Echo
Hotel the next morning. She said she spent several hours with Villa the
next night at the Deluxe Inn in McAllen, where they spoke of the killings
and that Villa acted "scared."
Villa told Martinez he was a member of the Texas Syndicate gang and showed
her his gang tattoos.
Testimony will continue today in Ramirezs trial.
In addition to Ramirez and Cantu, nine others are charged in the killings,
including Robert Gene "Bones" Garza, 21, who was sentenced to death last
December for his involvement in a separate multiple homicide.
Edinburg police are still looking for a 12 th man, Juan Miguel "Perro "
Nuez, 29, also charged with capital murder in connection with the
shootings.
(source: The Monitor)
********************
Jury process begins for Padilla
Court officials Wednesday began the process of picking a jury for
Galveston Countys first death penalty trial in a decade.
In the Galveston courtroom where jurors were filling out questionnaires
Wednesday, Frank Padilla looked like a man who had lost a lot of weight
during the 16 months he has spent in the county jail since his arrest.
Officials with the 122nd State District Court sent 700 summonses. More
than 200 potential jurors responded, and the court released a handful of
them with valid excuses Wednesday.
The rest filled out forms and listened as attorneys in the case briefly
outlined a jurors responsibilities.
Padilla, 45, faces a charge of capital murder and 2 charges of aggravated
sexual assault of a child.
His daughter, Linda Padilla, died Aug. 13, 2003, from injuries sustained
five days earlier in the League City apartment where she lived.
Padilla was arrested after taking his 2-year-old daughter to the St. John
Hospital emergency room in Nassau Bay. She had suffered a fractured skull,
brain swelling, a broken pelvis, fractured ribs, anal and vaginal tearing,
extensive bruising and black eyes.
He first told investigators the injuries occurred when his daughter fell
from a sink at their apartment on FM 518 West.
Capital murder carries a life term in prison or a death sentence.
Testimony in the case will begin in late January.
The childs mother, Magdalena Padilla, has been indicted on a charge of
injury to a child, which carries a possible prison term of five to 99
years as well as a fine of up to $10,000.
The last man sentenced to die in Galveston County was Robert Alan Shields
Jr., 29. Shields was 20 when a jury sentenced him to die in October 1995
for the murder of 27-year-old Friendswood resident Paula Stiner.
Stiner had been beaten with a hammer and repeatedly stabbed. Her body was
found in her home, and Shields was arrested 3 days after her death when he
was pulled over in The Woodlands while driving her car.
(source: The Galveston County Daily News)
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Britton's death sentence upheld
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last week affirmed the conviction of a
Canadian man sentenced to death in 2002 for killing a sheriff's deputy.
The court issued its opinion Friday, rejecting the appeal of Christopher
Chad Britton, who was sentenced to die for the June 17, 2001, shotgun
slaying of Hemphill County Deputy Jim Bruce Graham.
The news came as a relief to Graham's widow, who said the affirmation of
Britton's sentence is one more step toward justice for her late husband.
"It's a relief that it looks like he's not going to get out of this," said
Linda Graham Harris. "I've tried not to worry about it. I've tried to have
a lot of faith in the (judicial) system, but there's always a little bit
of worry."
A Potter County jury sentenced Britton, 29, to death Aug. 8, 2002, after
finding him guilty of capital murder in the slaying of Graham. The case
was moved to Amarillo due to extensive publicity.
According to trial testimony, Graham, who knew Britton personally, was
trying to arrest Britton on outstanding warrants the day he was shot in
Canadian.
Witnesses said Britton pulled out a shotgun, which Graham tried to grab,
before shooting Graham in the head.
Britton was found hiding in a pond hours later following an extensive
manhunt.
Britton's Amarillo attorney, Warren Clark, argued at trial that his client
suffered from a mental illness. Clark, who had no comment Tuesday,
represented Britton through his direct appeal, but will now turn the case
over to another attorney.
Britton's appeal raised 4 issues, all of which were rejected by the Court
of Appeals. 2 of the issues related to jurors who were disqualified, one
for his opposition to the death penalty and another who said she would not
consider probation for Britton, if appropriate.
The other issues involved statements made by lawyers from the Texas
Attorney General's office, who tried the case. Judge Steven Emmert upheld
objections to both statements at trial and directed the jury to disregard
them, which the court found sufficient.
District Attorney Rick Roach said he was not surprised the conviction was
upheld because the attorneys built a strong case and Emmert ran a fair
trial.
Friday's affirmation is only one step on the road to Britton's execution.
Roach said Britton is entitled to a state habeus corpus hearing, as well
as federal appeals, which could make the process stretch over years.
"You can never know for sure, but I'm thinking six years at best," Roach
said. "I don't mean to make it look like I'm looking forward to him being
executed, I'm just saying I think 6 years is probably the earliest time at
which he might exhaust all his appeals."
That day cannot get here soon enough for Graham-Harris, who said she and
her daughter have both been trying to get their lives back in order since
the murder.
"Normalcy is starting to come back," she said. "There was a tremendous
relief when the trial was over. But it's something that will always be
with me. It's never over."
(source: The Amarillo Globe-News)
******************************
Galveston Co. tries death penalty case for the 1st time in 10 years
Galveston County prosecutors are taking the 1st steps in their 1st death
penalty trial in a decade.
Jury selection began Wednesday in the trial against Frank Padilla. The
League City man is charged with capital murder for the death of his
2-year-old daughter. He's also charged with sexually assaulting the girl.
Padilla took the child to the hospital in August of last year, claiming
she was hurt when she fell off a sink. But the girl's injuries were just
too severe for police to believe Padilla's story. She suffered a fractured
skull, brain swelling, a broken pelvis, fractured ribs, and tearing in her
genital area. Testimony in the case is scheduled to begin next month.
The last person sentenced to die in Galveston County was Robert Alan
Shields Junior, who was convicted of killing Friendswood resident Paula
Stiner. He's still on death row.
(source: KTRK News)
