April 30
TEXAS:
Report on HPD crime lab cites a lack of cooperation -- Problem hinders
investigator's bid to get information on facility's woes
Some of the people who are needed in the effort to assess problems at the
Houston Police Department crime lab are no longer with the lab and have
not cooperated with the probe, an independent investigator said Friday in
his 1st report.
Michael Bromwich, a former U.S. Justice Department inspector who has
investigated the FBI crime lab, began his investigation of the HPD lab on
March 30. His team of scientists and investigators has met with 3 former
senior crime lab employees but has had difficulty meeting with others, he
said.
"Certain other key former crime lab personnel, including senior
supervisors or managers, have either not yet responded to attempts to
contact them or so far have refused our requests for interviews," the
report states.
It adds that "the recollections and perspectives" of those people are
central to the effort to investigate and remedy the crime lab's problems,
the document adds.
Bromwich's probe is the first full-scale, independent investigation of
HPD's crime lab, which has been plagued by scandal for more than 2 years.
During that time, problems have been uncovered in the analyses of 4
divisions: DNA, serology, ballistics and toxicology. 2 men have been
released from prison after problems with tests used to convict them were
exposed. Hundreds of cases have been scheduled for retesting.
Many people, including scientists, lawyers and elected officials, called
for an independent probe when problems at the crime lab first became
public in November 2002. It was not until last fall, however, that Police
Chief Harold Hurtt agreed to have an outsider review the lab shortly after
Hurtt took office.
Bromwich said he expects to complete the 1st stage of his investigation,
mainly developing a history of the lab's problems, within 90 days. The 2nd
phase will be a review of cases processed in the lab.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
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WILLIAMS FACES DEATH PENALTY
Johnny Lee Williams Jr. was arraigned in court Friday for the capital
murder of a college student he allegedly kidnapped from Wal-Mart after her
night shift ended.
Megan LeAnn Holden, a clerk at the store who had just started attending
classes at Tyler Junior College, was allegedly kidnapped on Jan. 19,
sexually assaulted, strangled and shot to death before her body was
discarded in a West Texas ditch.
The indictment charges him with exhibiting a deadly weapon - a firearm or
his hands and arms, allegedly used to strangle her.
Williams was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charge, as well as to
possessing less than one gram of cocaine on Dec. 5.
Members of the victim's family were in court on Friday, as well as
Williams' father. More deputies were on hand than usual for security
measures during the brief hearing.
Defense attorney LaJuanda Lacy was appointed to represent the 24-year-old
defendant in February. On Friday, 114th District Judge Cynthia Stevens
Kent appointed Tonda Curry as 2nd-chair defense counsel in the capital
murder case.
Williams could face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder and
if Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham decides to seek capital
punishment for the crime. He faces up to two years in jail for the state
jail felony drug charge.
Judge Kent said Ms. Lacy has been approved to defend capital murder
defendants for decades. She is the only defense attorney who has received
a life sentence from a jury when the state was seeking the death penalty
in Judge Kent's court, the judge said.
Judge Kent set jury selection to begin on June 23 and individual voir dire
on June 27. The trial is set for July 25.
Williams is accused of abducting Ms. Holden, a Chandler resident, from the
parking lot of Wal-Mart Supercenter, 3820 Texas Highway 64 West.
Surveillance video obtained by police shows a man following Ms. Holden to
her pickup, then rushing behind her and pushing her inside before driving
away from the store.
Williams took the victim to Martin County, where he allegedly killed her
and dumped her body in a ditch, police said.
A convenience store clerk at an RV park near Bowie, Ariz., shot Williams
in the shoulder as the suspect allegedly attempted to rob him. Authorities
located the suspect on Jan. 21 at a hospital in Willcox, Ariz., where he
was seeking aid for a gunshot wound. Also found at the hospital was Ms.
Holden's pickup.
Williams was arrested on an aggravated kidnapping affidavit.
A witness who apparently saw Williams at Wal-Mart on the night of the
kidnapping identified him out of a 6-person photo lineup and described a
tattoo on the suspect, the affidavit states.
The defendant was extradited to Tyler on Feb. 3 to face the charges.
Bingham, First Assistant DA Brett Harrison and Chief Felony Prosecutor
April Sikes are prosecuting the case.
Judge Kent issued a restrictive and protective order even before Williams
was indicted, limiting the information that those involved in the case can
disseminate to the public.
(source: Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Camachos attorneys file motion of temporary insanity -- Claim would
invalidate confession
The mid-May capital murder trial for Brownsville mother Angela Camacho
could be postponed after defense attorneys filed a claim that she was
insane at the time she killed her 3 children in March 2003.
In defense motions filed in the 107th state District Court this week,
Camachos attorneys claim her temporary insanity makes her confession
invalid.
"Under statute, she could not understand her rights and give a statement
without a counselor being present," said Camachos attorney Ernesto Gamez.
"She did not appreciate or realize the consequences of her actions because
she thought she was sending her children to a better place."
According to court records, the case is scheduled to go to trial in
mid-May, but Gamez said it would "most likely" be postponed due to the
recently filed motions as well as several others expected to follow.
Meanwhile, the results of a state review to determine whether Camacho is
mentally retarded are due Wednesday. If she is found mentally retarded she
would not be eligible for the death penalty.
Even if Camacho is found to be insane at the time of the crime, Gamez said
she could still face life in a criminal mental institution.
Camacho, 25, and her common-law husband John Allen Rubio, 24, allegedly
strangled and decapitated their 3 children ranging in ages from 2 months
to 3 years old in March 2003.
Camacho and Rubio were arrested charged with capital murder.
Although Rubio was convicted and sentenced to death in November 2003,
Camachos case has been tied up in court for more than 2 years.
(source: The Brownsville Herald)
**************************
Police arrest uncle in slaying of girl, 4 -- The child, found stabbed in
an alley, had been taken from her bed
In a weed-choked alley not far from her home, a 4-year-old girl was found
dead early Friday, just hours after her family said she was snatched from
her bed.
Investigators late Friday arrested the girl's uncle, 20-year-old Francisco
Castellano, and charged him with capital murder. He is being held without
bail. The Bay City Police Department did not release the girl's identity.
Neighbors said Castellano lived at the home in the 1400 block of Avenue E.
They also said he helped search after her family noticed her missing.
Bay City police said the family realized the child was missing between
11:30 p.m. and midnight Thursday. The family searched the neighborhood and
then called police at about 1:20 a.m. Nearly a dozen officers searched the
area.
Police found the child's body in tall grass in an alley near her home at
about 3:15 a.m. She had been stabbed once in the chest and once in the
neck, police said. Her head also had signs of trauma.
The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating but had
not released the exact cause of death or autopsy results by late Friday,
said Sparks Veasey, the county's deputy medical examiner.
A knife was found near the body, but police had not linked it to the
killing by late Friday, said Capt. Jim Jumonville, of the Bay City Police
Department.
Jumonville said the child had been in bed with her 2 sisters, ages 10 and
3, when she disappeared.
Neighbors said they saw Castellano searching the neighborhood with other
relatives and friends. Some said the man, who moved in about 6 months ago,
often played with his nieces in their front yard and regularly rode one of
the girls' bicycles.
"The uncle was circling (the area) in a truck searching," said Lori
Morales, 27, who lives next door to the child's family. "He seemed upset
she was missing."
Kimble Gutierrez, 15, cried as she talked about the younger girl. She said
the man was a nice person who seemed to like children. She said she had
seen the girl Thursday about 2:30 p.m playing with her friends in the
neighborhood.
"I'm not doing too good," she said.
The girl was shy, said Gwen Robles, 25, who lives across the street from
the family. The girl often came to Robles' home to play with their
Chihuahua named Jade.
"She was kind of quiet, real timid," Robles said.
Her brother-in-law, Rick Galvan, said the killer deserved the same
treatment he gave the child.
"They need to do to him what he did do her, (let him) see how it feels,
see how he likes it," Galvan said.
(source : Houston Chronicle)
