Feb. 26 TEXAS: Slayings put Tyler in spotlight again----Residents of the city say they are more cautious after recent spate of violent crimes Blake Bailey says he was a bit worried about crime in the big city when he made a recent trip to New Orleans. Now he's more concerned about safety in the "nice, sweet little East Texas town" he calls home. "I came over to my little hamlet and the machine gun fire is over here," the 58-year-old Tyler attorney said Friday. Bailey works near the Smith County Courthouse, where David Hernandez Arroyo opened fire with an AK-47 Thursday, killing his ex-wife and another man. Before police killed Arroyo, he had fired at least 50 rounds in the town square, wounding 3 officers and his adult son. Suddenly, Tyler finds itself in the national media spotlight - for the 3rd time in a little more than a month. In late January, a 19-year-old Wal-Mart clerk was killed after being abducted from the store parking lot in an attack that was caught on surveillance videotape and aired nationwide. And earlier this week, a man was arrested while working in Tyler and charged in the killing of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old son in Fort Worth - a case closely followed on national cable news outlets. While police spokesman Don Martin on Friday called the recent spate a fluke, many people are being more careful. Single women are reconsidering whether to shop alone at night, Martin said - even though a suspect has been arrested in Wal-Mart clerk Megan Leann Holden's slaying last month. "We're not really used to being careful," said Eunice Seanez, a 15-year-old high school student who recalls that her family kept its doors unlocked as recently as 5 years ago. "I guess we're going to have to learn." Even off-duty police officers are taking their guns inside when they stop at a restaurant to eat, Martin said. "It's making me think twice ... because you never know what's around the corner," he said. Tyler, the seat of Smith County, is a city of about 86,000 located about 95 miles east of Dallas. Tyler calls itself the "Rose Capital of the Nation" and attracts about 100,000 visitors each October to the Texas Rose Festival. In normal times, Bailey said, "it's a quiet place. There's not a whole lot of crime that you hear about." In 2003, the latest year for which statistics are available, Tyler police investigated 7 murders, 522 assaults and 4,019 larceny thefts, state Department of Public Safety records show. But Thursday was much different. Arroyo, 43, who had a history of spousal abuse and weapons violations, shot at least 50 rounds outside the courthouse. He was angered over a child support dispute with his ex-wife, and he was wearing a military flak jacket and a bulletproof vest. Maribel Estrada, 41, and Mark Alan Wilson, 52, died. Smith County sheriff's Deputy Sherman Dollison, 28, was in critical condition at East Texas Medical Center on Friday after being shot 4 times. Arroyo's 21-year-old son, David Hernandez Arroyo Jr., was shot in the legs and was in fair condition Friday. A sheriff's lieutenant and a Tyler police detective were treated and released. Henry Bell, executive vice president of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, said the recent crimes could have happened anywhere. "I don't think there's any driving force to connect all these things and say what's going on over there," Bell said. (source: Houston Chronicle) **************************** Death row inmates' moms join lab protest ----Both contend mistakes resulted in convictions The mothers of 2 death row inmates were among about a dozen protesters Friday afternoon, in a small but noisy demonstration against the Houston Police Department's crime lab. Several protesters carried signs reading, "Jail the HPD Crime Lab" as they walked a picket line in front of HPD's headquarters at 1200 Travis. The lab has been at the center of controversy since 2002, when officials shuttered the DNA section after an audit that revealed widespread problems and prompted the retesting of evidence from nearly 400 cases. The retesting has raised questions in dozens of convictions and resulted in the freeing of one man. A 2nd man was released from prison after flaws were found in serology work by the lab. That case is on appeal. Questions also have been raised about the quality of ballistic work in some HPD cases. Jewel Nelms, the mother of Frances Newton, and Lee Bolton, the mother of Nanon Williams, contended crime lab mistakes resulted in their children's murder convictions. Newton's scheduled execution was delayed in early December by Gov. Rick Perry, who issued a 120-day reprieve to allow her lawyer to retest critical evidence. Newton was convicted in the 1987 slayings of her husband and their 2 children. Bolton said her son, Nanon Williams, 30, has been in prison since he was 17. His 1992 murder conviction, which was based on ballistics evidence, is on appeal in the federal courts. The 2 mothers were joined by representatives of the National Black United Front, the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement and the Harris County Green Party. (source : Houston Chronicle) PENNSYLVANIA: Prosecutors seek death penalty against man in double shooting In Mount Union, the Huntingdon County district attorney said he will seek the death penalty against a man accused of shooting 2 people and dumping their bodies along a trash-strewn dirt road. District Attorney Robert Stewart announced his decision to seek capital punishment against Stephen K. Baker on Friday, the same day Baker was arraigned on 1st-degree murder and other charges stemming from the Dec. 28 shootings, which police believe came from a botched drug deal. Baker, 28, of Mount Union, who remains held in the Huntingdon County Jail, pleaded not guilty to the charges. His relatives declined comment after the hearing. His attorneys, Thomas Hooper and David Smith, did not return phone calls for comment after business hours on Friday. The bodies of Tirelle Dixon, 21, of Philadelphia, and Jessica Wills, 20, of Dysart, were found Dec. 30 along a secluded one-lane road in Shirley Township, about 50 miles west of Harrisburg, after a passing motorist reported seeing a body. Both had been shot in the head and their bodies left next to a car, which Dixon borrowed from a friend, state police said. Baker was arrested after his live-in girlfriend, Crystal M. Frederick, 26, told investigators that Baker shot Dixon and Wills as part of a crack cocaine deal, state police said. Baker also confessed to the killings but said he shot Dixon because he thought the other man was going to draw a gun, state police said. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Frederick told police that she and Baker were picked up by Wills and Dixon and taken to the secluded road. She said Baker shot Dixon to steal $300 of crack cocaine and then shot Wills because she was a witness, the affidavit said. Frederick has been charged with hindering apprehension. (source: Associated Press) ********************* Death row appeal denied A former Chambersburg man will remain on death row for the torture and murder of his cousin's wife more than 6 years ago. In a unanimous decision released Thursday, the state Supreme Court denied an appeal by Michael B. Singley to have his death sentence overturned. "We affirm the verdict of 1st-degree murder and the sentence of death," the court stated in a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy. Singley, now 28, was sentenced to death in June 2001 after pleading guilty to 1st-degree murder in the slaying of 23-year-old Christine Rohrer on November 1998 in her home on Elder Street in Chambersburg. Singley also was convicted of shooting and stabbing Rohrer's husband, Travis, murdering a neighbor, James Gilliam, and attempting to murder Gilliam's fiancee, Deborah Hock. Singley's appeal of his death sentence was based on multiple claims: - That he should not have been allowed to plead guilty to 1st-degree murder. The court said a 2003 decision, Commonwealth vs. Fears, held that a defendant is not denied due process "when the court accepts a knowing, voluntary and intelligent guilty plea to 1st-degree murder." - That he had ineffective counsel. The court ruled that there was no evidence that Singley's lawyer had failed to represent Singley in accordance with legal requirements. - That police had failed to inform him of his rights. The court said it found "no arguable merit" to those claims. - That testimony by family members of the victims was inflammatory and prejudicial. "The cumulative effect of the testimony clearly demonstrates that the deaths had a profound effect on the respective families," the court wrote in dismissing the claim. According to court records and police reports, the murders of Christine Rohrer and Gilliam unfolded in the following way: On Nov. 3, 1998, Singley purchased three rolls of duct tape, a box of ammunition which he knew matched a .44 magnum handgun owned by his cousin Travis Rohrer, a folding lockblade hunting knife and camouflage hunting gloves at retail stores in the Chambersburg area. He gained admission to the Rohrer's Elder Street home by pretending he had car trouble. He overcame Christine Rohrer, who was alone in the house, and bound her to her bed with duct tape, also taping over her eyes and mouth. He then raped her before going into the next room to smoke a cigarette. He then returned to the bedroom and stabbing Christine Rohrer multiple times in the chest and neck, causing her death. When Rohrer's husband, Travis, arrived home at about 8 p.m., he found Singley still in the house, brandishing a gun and a knife. In an ensuing struggle, Travis Rohrer suffered knife and gunshot wounds. As Singley fled the Rohrer home, he encountered Gilliam and Hock on the sidewalk. Singley shot Gilliam in the chest, killing him, and fired at Hock, but missed her. Singley fled the scene in Christine Rohrer's Jeep. He was arrested the next day at his parents' home in Chambersburg, where he had been living. The Jeep was found abandoned nearby. A Franklin County jury recommended execution for Singley after a six-day penalty-phase trial in January 2001. Jurors rejected claims that Singley was mentally ill at the time of the crimes. Singley received a life sentence without parole for the murder of Gilliam, 20 to 40 years for the attempted murder of Travis Rohrer, 10 to 20 years for the attempted murder of Hock, 10 to 20 years for raping Christine Rohrer, 3 to 7 years for criminal trespass and 3 to 7 years for stealing Christine Rohrer's Jeep. Franklin County Judge Doug Herman ordered those sentences to be served consecutively, or until such time as Singley is executed by lethal injection by the state. (source: Public Opinion Online) CALIFORNIA: Judge Sets New Sentencing Date for Scott Peterson A California judge on Friday set a March 16 sentencing date for Scott Peterson, who faces the death penalty after his conviction late last year for murdering his wife and unborn son. "The 16th is in cement," Superior Court Judge Al Delucchi said. "I'm not going to change that date. I'm not going to make any further continuances." The jury that convicted Peterson, 32, of double murder recommended that Delucchi sentence him to death for the murders of Laci and Conner Peterson. The case attracted wide media coverage, with many Americans engrossed by the tragic story of a seemingly perfect couple. Prosecutors argued that Peterson killed his wife on Christmas Eve 2002 at a time when she was 8 months pregnant in order to carry on an affair with his mistress. The judge, who can reduce that penalty to life in prison, originally set Friday as the sentencing date, but pushed it back at the request of defense attorney Mark Geragos. Geragos also filed a motion asking Delucchi for a new trial, but that document was sealed until prosecutors can reply in writing. Peterson appeared in court wearing a dark suit and seemed to have gained a few pounds since the death verdict. Jurors said they convicted Peterson of the Dec. 24, 2002 murders in part because the 2 bodies washed ashore 4 months later near where he had been fishing the day Laci disappeared. (source: Reuters) ILLINOIS: Illinois seeks to modify death penalty A group of lawmakers pushing for an end to Illinois's moratorium on executions wants to replace the "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" standard to "guilt beyond any doubt" for the penalty phase of capital cases, saying that will minimize the risk of the wrong person being put to death. The proposal yesterday drew criticism from supporters and opponents of the death penalty, but the legislators said it could help stop the sort of wrongful convictions that led then-Governor George Ryan to halt all executions in 2000. "This probably is the only way we're going to get the death penalty back," said Representative Chapin Rose, a Republican. "It's just common sense. If we're going to extract the ultimate penalty, we need to be right." 13 death-row inmates had been found to have been wrongly convicted by the time Ryan declared the moratorium. Just before leaving office in January 2003, the Republican commuted the death sentences of 167 inmates to life in prison and pardoned 4 others, declaring the state's capital justice system "haunted by the demon of error." Since then, the state has given the Supreme Court greater power to throw out unjust verdicts, offered defendants more access to evidence, and barred the death penalty in cases that depend on a single witness. Jurors in the guilt phase of capital trials would continue to convict defendants they find guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But a death sentence could be imposed only if the jury has absolutely no doubt about guilt; otherwise, the sentence would be life in prison. (source: Associated Press) *********************** Indictment hovering on sad Naperville anniversary It is a day Brian J. Dugan might have thought would not come. Prosecutors, though, insist that day is drawing near. They will ask a grand jury in a few months to indict the convicted killer on charges of abducting, raping and murdering 10-year-old Naperville schoolgirl Jeanine Nicarico. It was 22 years ago Friday that Jeanine disappeared from her home after staying home sick from school in a crime that decades later sparked Illinois' death penalty reform. Prosecutors have DNA evidence, including semen and a hair, officials say links Dugan with scientific certainty to the murder. Prosecutors say they still need more time, however, to prepare their case before seeking an indictment. That preparation is necessary should Dugan be indicted and invoke his right to a speedy trial. In the next several weeks, they'll continue waiting for lab results on other possible forensic evidence, as well as scanning more than 200,000 pages of documents into computerized files to turn over to the defense should they gain an indictment. After a grand jury has been impaneled, the process of presenting evidence is expected to take about one month before an indictment could come. It may come as early as May, said DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett. "We're working on the case every day," he said. "We have yet to begin a formal presentation of the evidence. I'm hopeful we get to that point in the next few months." Dugan, 48, is serving 2 life sentences at the Pontiac Correctional Center for similar rapes and murders that occurred after Jeanine was killed. He long ago surfaced as a suspect in her Feb. 25, 1983, murder, claiming sole responsibility during plea negotiations for the 2 killings that occurred later, prosecutors said. Dugan remained a suspect, but prosecutors never brought charges, in part, because he refused to officially confess without their guarantee he wouldn't face execution. That sticking point has not changed. "I've always believed that if the death penalty is imposed for any crime, it certainly should be in play for this case," Birkett said. Authorities prosecuted 3 other men who were accused of Jeanine's murder. All 3 men later were cleared or the charges were dropped. One of them, Rolando Cruz, spent more than 11 years in prison - part of the time on death row - after two juries convicted him. A judge acquitted Cruz in 1995 during a third trial after new evidence was revealed. Former Gov. George Ryan later pardoned him. Prosecutors and Jeanine's parents, Pat and Tom, still suspect Cruz and the two other men were involved, but after 22 years authorities are poised to indict Dugan after collecting the most reliable DNA evidence yet that officials say links him to the crime. The Nicaricos say they just want to know what happened to their daughter. They are not certain a Dugan indictment will answer that question. "I don't know what it will prove," Pat Nicarico said Friday. For 2 years, authorities say, they have had DNA evidence from semen that conclusively points to Dugan. More recently, forensic experts linked him through a hair recovered from Jeanine's body. The hair was tested using more sophisticated procedures unavailable years ago. Prosecutors had obtained a court order a few years ago to draw a fresh sample of Dugan's DNA for a comparison - a move they hope will quell the anticipated argument by defense attorneys that the original sample through the years has been compromised. They also are now waiting for lab results regarding other possible forensic evidence. Despite the fact Dugan had been in prison for several years for sex-related crimes, his DNA had never been entered into the state database because of a backlog of cases. As prosecutors prepare their case, they've also already reached out to the many defense attorneys who've been involved in the different trials to recover court records, transcripts and other documents that are missing. Prosecutors recovered old tape-recorded interviews in which Dugan is heard making incriminating statements to police detectives. Authorities declined to specify what Dugan said, but they contend his statements are admissible in court because they were made outside of plea negotiations. The case against Dugan is largely based on scientific DNA evidence. But the prosecution also is expected to call as a witness a Naperville woman who, while working in a church near the Nicarico home the day of the murder, claims Dugan stopped in to inquire about a job. Dugan's former employer also may testify that he did not go in to work that day. The investigation surrounding Dugan also had stalled for several years while DuPage County faced lawsuits from Cruz and his co-defendants. Also, seven DuPage County law enforcement officials were accused of conspiring to railroad Cruz. It picked up speed after the lawsuits were settled for $3.5 million and the law enforcement officials, dubbed the DuPage 7, were acquitted of wrongdoing. Although Birkett had minimal involvement in the past prosecutions, he has taken heat for not indicting Dugan since becoming state's attorney in 1996. Birkett has repeatedly said he will not rush the case to satisfy critics. "Brian Dugan is not going anywhere," Birkett said. "We have to be ready (for trial) the minute we indict." Anniversary: Man convicted of crime acquitted in 1995 (source: Daily Herald)
