Posted on 06/17/2006 4:14:34 AM PDT by cbkaty
Harris County prosecutors decided to file aggravated robbery charges in a deadly carjacking because the evidence did not show the attackers intended to kill a little girl, a key element for a murder charge, officials said.
"It doesn't sound like a serious enough charge — maybe that is what people's perception is," said Di Glaeser, chief of the major offender and special crimes unit of the Harris County District Attorney's Office. "I think, that if these people are guilty, they should receive the most serious punishment and that would be aggravated robbery."
Charged with aggravated robbery were Bakari Holland, 18; Koty Holmes, 19, and Rashard Renfro, 23. Holland also was charged with injury to a child. All three remain in custody in the Harris County jail without bail.
The three are accused of robbing Luis Garcia at gunpoint at a car wash in the 8300 block of Jensen late Tuesday night. When Garcia said he had little money, two of the gunmen forced his wife and four children from his Chevrolet Suburban. Garcia's 23-month-old daughter, Stephanie, was killed when she was run over as the robbers made their getaway.
Though the toddler was killed in the commission of a crime, Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said, a capital murder charge would have been hard to prove.
"It would be very difficult to make a capital murder case that we could prosecute because it would require proving the specific intent to kill," he said.
Rosenthal said he had his best prosecutors working on the case and that "if they could have done something more serious they would have."
Glaeser said a capital murder charge would have required evidence showing the suspects set out to kill the toddler, but the evidence available did not sustain that charge.
"There are fewer elements to prove in an aggravated robbery and the same evidence would come out regardless of the charge during the trial, and so it is in our opinion a wiser decision to charge these three individuals with aggravated robbery," she said.
Aggravated robbery, like murder, is a first-degree felony. They carry the same punishment.
The three arrested have admitted they were involved in the robbery, said homicide investigator Darrell Robertson.
Robertson said the three also are under investigation for other robberies in the area, including one that was committed after the carjacking.
'Just a crime spree' "It seems to have been just a crime spree," he said. "They're riding around and picking what they believe is the weak and the easy pickings as they would put it."
The last three days have been exhausting for the Garcia family as they've tried to come to terms with the loss, made arrangements to bury their daughter in Mexico and learned of the arrests.
Garcia said he wanted justice for his daughter's death, but the news of the arrests offered little relief because it would not bring her back.
"What can I say? Nothing, only that God help them," Garcia said.
The arrests stemmed from tips made to Crime Stoppers, including one that placed the three and the vehicle in the area. On Thursday, Holland and Renfro were arrested at their homes and Holmes was arrested near his home.
Though Garcia told police he had been robbed by two men, most of the tips referred to three men. Robertson said the third suspect apparently was the getaway driver, but was as involved in the planning and commission of the robberies as the other two.
Police suspect the three were involved in several robberies in northeast Houston. Robertson said all three lived on the northwest side.
"At this time there are several robberies that we are looking at in and around the northeast and north area that we believe that these three are responsible for," Robertson said.
Driver confessed, police say Also, he said all three knew at some point that the toddler had been run over. He said Holland was charged with injury to a child because he confessed to driving the vehicle when the child was struck and killed.
He said Holland and Renfro were longtime friends, having known each other since middle school and that Holmes had recently joined them. None of the three were employed, he said.
"They didn't really do a lot of anything," Robertson said, "except hang around and plan out some crimes."
armando.villafranca@chron.com
Ping for action. Y'all hound your US Attorney to take this out of the hands of lilly-livered local prosecutors. They'll go after DeLay with both barrels a blazin' but when it comes down to getting real scumbags off the street, they come up way short.
No pics of the perps because they are investigating other crimes and don't want their faces out in the public because they are going to have them in line ups in the next few days.
Yes..they are.... The likely senario; no father, poor, black, no education, on welfare, drugs, no job....all the "Man's" fault...
Strange....right? Not so strange for the Houston Comical.....they protect those that represent "If it bleads...it leads".....
BLEEDS
Can anyone imagine the Father's reaction to these charges?
Don't fall for it. They are as guilty as the perpetrators; aiding and abetting for romantic notions of justice is still aiding and abetting in its purest sense.
Why in Mexico? Just curious.
Maybe this is a key to understanding the weak charges. Perhaps the family were illegal aliens, and harder charges would lead to a higher profile case, and the family would be deported? Convoluted logic on my part, I admit, but maybe it provides a bit of explanation?
Was it a typical lib apology, something like, "I'm sorry I offended anybody when I stomped this little ho to dearh."
I must admit that I wondered why an entire family would stop to use a pay phone in "that" area of Houston and "that" time of night....
Regardless of the ignorance of the victims and of crime in the area, the perps must fry.
You still do: ...[emphasis added]
§ 19.02. MURDER[0].
(b) A person commits an offense if he: (1) intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual; (2) intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual; or (3) commits or attempts to commit a felony[0], other than manslaughter, and in the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempt, or in immediate flight from the commission or attempt, he commits or attempts to commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual. (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under this section is a felony[0] of the first degree. (d) At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether he caused the death under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense is a felony[0] of the second degree.
And the sentencing statute for a first degree felony:
§ 12.32. FIRST DEGREE FELONY PUNISHMENT.Now, IANL, but this sure seems simple to me.
(a) An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years.
(b) In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.
They put down everybody here including drivers of getaway vehicles.
No wonder Texas is not at the top of the list when it comes to the rate at which the death penalty is applied!
Certainly our criminal classes should be held to the same standards as the cops eh?!
Disagree ... death OR serious bodily harm and "if death occurs" is only one of three conditions. At a minimum, the sentence is 15 years, and a case could be made for the death penalty. It should be sufficient to get a plea well in excess of the 10 years (out in how many?).
I also know of a case in Ohio (the kids was a recruit for WVU football, thankfully it fell through because of this) who talked a friend into robbing someone with a fake gun. Well the homeowner thought it was a real gun, and killed the kid. Since the recruit was there and someone died, he was charged with capital murder I think because the death happened in the commission of a felony. Why not have that in this case?
CLEVELAND - An 18-year-old recognized as the top prep football player in the state pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in the shooting death of a teammate. Raymond Williams faces three to 20 years in prison at his sentencing Nov. 16 on involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery charges. Williams, a running back at Benedictine High School, was named the 17th annual winner of The Ohio Associated Press Mr. Football award last November. Police said Williams, Jon Huddleston and Lorenzo Hunter, all members of the school's state-champion football team, allegedly tried to use a toy gun April 16 to rob Rodney Roberts, who pulled a gun and began shooting. Hunter, 16, died of gunshot wounds to the chest, arm and hip.
Felony Murder Rule anyone?
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