Appendix F

Defendants Spared from Death Sentences by Prosecutors

In order from highest number of Depravity Points to lowest (and if Depravity Points are equal, then in alphabetical order by defendant’s surname)

(Numbered with the prefix “PS” denoting “Prosecutor Spared”)

Age is given as of the time of the crime, although the age may be off by a year because of lack of knowledge of the defendant’s birthday in relation to the date of the crime.  When there are multiple murders with years in between, the defendant’s age at the time of the most recent murder is listed.

In the grid “Prosecutorial Reasons for Not Pursuing Death Sentence” an “s” indicates that the prosecutor stated this as a reason; an “i” indicates that the reason can be reasonably inferred from the facts of the case, even though the prosecutor did not state it as a reason.

PS 1.  Charles Cullen, age 42

County and State: Somerset, New Jersey (also—Pennsylvania)

Date of Crime: All murders in NJ occurred in 2003

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Cullen admitted to killing at least 33 of his patients by injecting them with drugs during his 16 months as a critical care nurse in several hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  He entered into life-without-parole deals with authorities in both states in return for helping to identify his victims. 

Sources: Star Ledger (Newark) 9/9/04 (2004 WL 90148536), 9/15/04 (2004 WL 90150090), 10/14/04 (2004 WL  90158168), 12/16/03, 11/9/04, 10/14/04; Philadelphia Daily News (2004 WL 94810347); Allentown Morning Call (PA) 10/15/04 (2004 WL 92824463), 11/18/04 (2004 WL 96578465); St. Louis Post Dispatch 3/17/04 (2004 WL 96172852)

PS 2.  Lee Boyd Malvo, age 17 

County and State: Spotsylvania, Virginia

Date of Crime: 11/02

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution:  Malvo was the accomplice to John Allen Muhammed in the notorious “Beltway sniper” murders.  Malvo shot the victims through a peephole in the trunk of their car; Muhammed was the driver.  (Malvo also faces possible capital charges in Alabama and Louisiana.)  In the Spotsylvania cases, he shot one and killed one victim while he was pumping gasoline and wounded another victim who was shot in a parking lot.  He pled guilty to a life-without-parole sentence.  

The following factors certainly played a role in the prosecutor’s decision not to pursue the death penalty: 1) Malvo was 17 at the time of the murders, and the issue of the constitutionality of executing 17-year-old offenders was pending before the U. S. Supreme Court; 2) Malvo had been convicted but spared the death penalty by a jury in Fairfax County, Virginia in December, 2003; 3) Malvo was at least semi-indoctrinated by Muhammad, whom he viewed as a surrogate father. 

Sources: Deseret Morning News (UT) 9/25/04 (2004 WL 92482429)

PS 3, PS 4.  Victor Jesus Rodriguez, age 39; Fredy Giovanni Tobar, age 23

Federal Court in District of Texas

Date of Crime: 5/14/03

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Rodriguez and Tobar were part of a conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants for profit.  The illegal immigrants were found in an abandoned trailer with seventeen immigrants dead, and more close to death.  The immigrants died of hyperthermia, suffocation and dehydration.  The prosecution decided not to seek death sentences.  After conviction by a jury, the two men face a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

Sources: Houston Chronicle 12/21/04 (2004 WL 101439351), 12/24/04 (2004 WL 101439924)

PS 5.  Richard Paul White, age 30

County and State: Arapahoe, Costilla and Otero; Colorado

Date of Crime: 9/7/03 (he confessed to 5 other murders occurring before that).

Summary of the Facts of the Crime: White shot and killed his co-worker Jason Reichardt, then stole his truck and $240. He was apprehended two days later and confessed. In addition to confessing to Reichert’s murder, he confessed to the murders of Victoria Lyn Turpin and Annaletia Maria Gonzales and three other women. All five, he said, were prostitutes. Turpin and Gonsales were buried in his backyard.  He also admitted to sexually assaulting and kidnapping three other prostitutes who survived, and attempting to murder one of the prostitutes.  White pleaded guilty to life-without-parole.

Sources: Denver Post: 9/08/04 (2004 WL 59332445), 9/17/04 (2004 WL 59333131), 11/30/04 (2004 WL 10176917)

PS 6, PS 7.  Edward Herrera, age 50; Michael Sandoval, age 23

County and State: Denver, Colorado

Date of Crime: 8/6/03

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Herrera and Sandoval robbed Herrera’s ex-girlfriend.  During the robbery they shot and killed four people and wounded two others, including Douglas Kubo who was left a quadriplegic.  The 3-year-old daughter of one of the murder victims was present during the robbery.  There was inconsistent eyewitness testimony about who the triggerman was.  The prosecution decided not to seek death sentences.  Herrera pled guilty and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for the murders, plus an additional 48 years for the attempted murders.  Sandoval pled guilty to one count of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 5 years of probation.

Sources: The Denver Post 3/30/04, 9/30/04; Rocky Mountain News 10/2/04 LEXIS New Library, USPAPR file.

PS 8.  Stephen Flemmi, age 47

County and State: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Date of crime: 1981

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Flemmi and cohorts ambushed with a gunshot to the head Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler after he had played a round of golf.  The mob in Boston had a dispute with Wheeler, who had just bought a jai alai company.  At the time of the current plea, Flemmi was already serving life sentences for racketeering, that included nine other murders.  In this case, Flemmi received another life sentence in a deal worked out with prosecutors in at least three jurisdictions.

Source: Tulsa World 10/1/04 (2004 WL 94041889)

PS 9.  Michael Roman, age unknown

County and State: Palm Beach, Florida

Date of crime: 9/21/02

Summary of facts of crime, and case resolution: Roman believed members of the Gomez/Valentin family had molested his minor daughters.  He went to the home of the family he believed to be the molesters.  He lured Ismael Gomez outside, and shot him in the head, and did likewise with Gomez’s common-law wife Carmen Valentin.  Then Roman went into the house where he found 19-year-old, eight-months pregnant Damaris Roman (no relation).  As she begged for her life, he chose not to shoot her, but to stab her to death so she would feel more pain.  Then he shot both 17-year-old Juan Carlos Valentin and 22-year-old Elizabeth Valentin in the head—both died.  Roman calmly admitted the crimes to the police, and said he did it because the victims had laughed at him when he had confronted them about the alleged molestation.  The defense claimed to have evidence that the molestation allegations were true, which constituted a partial excuse for Roman’s crimes.

Sources: Palm Beach Post 1/29/03 (2003 WL 2798962), 12/9/04 (2004 WL 13699428), 12/16/04 (14425796).

PS 10.  Clinton A. Brathwaite, age 30 

County and State: Roanoke, Virginia

Date of Crime: 4/4/03

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Braithwaite killed his girlfriend, then shot and killed three of her four children (two of them 12 years of age or less) because they witnessed the crime.  He attempted to kill the fourth child by shooting her in the head, but she survived.  He pled guilty to a life-without parole sentence. 

Sources:  Daily Press 9/29/04 (2004 WL 92725310), Roanoke Times & World News 9/26/04 (2004 WL  86037858), 9/28/04 (2004 WL 86038018)

PS 11, PS 12.  Dawud Farqui, age 25; Khalid Faruqi, age 24

County and State: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date of Crime: 12/28/00

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: The Farqui’s and two accomplices shot to death seven people and tried to murder three others inside a West Philadelphia crack house to get revenge on a drug dealer who ruined a clutch on one killer’s car.  These killings were known as the “Lex Street Massacre.”  The brothers pled guilty to life sentences as the jury had returned to decide they should be executed.

Sources:  Philadelphia Inquirer 3/8/04 (2004 WL 71440534)

PS 13.  Daniel Fears, age 18

County and State: Sequoyah, Oklahoma

Date of Crime: 10/26/02

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Fears was convicted of murdering two women and wounding eight others in a shooting spree.  Patty Sue Wells (61) and Reba Spangler (68) were killed.  Fears was sentenced to eight life sentences, and although Fears was diagnosed with schizophrenia the jury rejected that Fears was insane.    

Sources: Tulsa World 9/26/04 (2004 WL 94041152); Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) 12/9/04 102335298)

PS 14.  Jeffrey Alan Hefling, age 38

County and State: Orange, Florida

Date of Crime: 8/01

Summary of the facts of the crime, and case resolution: Hefling, a already convicted sex offender who had served time, was subcontracted to clean the air conditioning ducts at the home of victim Cathy Sue Weaver. He later returned to the home, raped and killed her and tried to set the house on fire.  A week before, Hefling pleaded guilty to a 1984 rape and murder that got him life in prison, after DNA evidence had linked him to the crime. For the 2001 crime he was expected to plead guilty to second degree murder rather than face charges of first degree murder, burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery, sexual battery with a deadly weapon and arson. The victim’s family was suing the air-conditioning company and the subcontractor for negligent hiring.

Source: The Orlando Sentinel, 3/3/04 (2004 WL 71398959)

PS 15.  Edward Morris, age 37

County and State: Tillamook, Oregon

Date of Crime: 12/02

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution:  Morris shot his pregnant wife and two sons, ages 10 and 4, in a car.  Following these shootings, he then stabbed his daughter at least 18 times, killing her.  He left the four bodies along a logging road in a remote area of a forest.  He pled guilty to 4 consecutive life-without-parole sentences.

Sources:  Columbian 9/21/04 (2004 WL 93001583), 11/16/04 (2004 WL 93004927); Grand Rapids Press 9/21/04 (2004 WL 85970884)

PS 16, PS 17.  Kenneth Kimes, age 23; Sante Kimes, age 63

County and State: Los Angeles, California.

Date of Crime: 3/13/98

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Sante Kimes ordered her son Kenneth to kill David Kazdin in order to silence him because Sante Kimes had taken out a loan on a home Kazdin owned in Las Vegas, and had forged his name on the papers.  Kenneth Kimes and accomplice Shawn Little were let into victim David Kazdin’s apartment. After a confrontation about a loan, Kimes shot Kazdin in the back of the head. Then, he and Little loaded his body into the trunk of Kazdin’s car and dumped it in a trash bin near LAX Airport. They also threw the gun and Kazdin’s wallet out the window. Afterwards, Kimes and Little ate, went shopping for clothes and saw a movie. Later that night, Kimes brought his mother flowers and the two celebrated the murder. At the time of trial, both mother and son were serving life sentences for the murder of New York Socialite Irene Silverman.  Kenneth accepted a plea deal to life-without-parole to testify against his mother.  Sante was convicted and also sentenced to life-without-parole.

Sources: Monterey County Herald, 7/8/04 (2004 WL 80126796), L.A. Times, 6/15/04 (2004 WL 55919443), 6/18/04 (2004 WL 55920023), New York Daily News 6/23/04 (2004 WL 76398282)

PS 18.  Simon Hutchinson, age unknown

County and state: 21st Judicial District, Louisiana

Date of Crime: 1/01

Summary of facts of crime, and case resolution: Hutchinson and Perry Pooler entered a mobile home and shot a woman and three of her children; ages 17, 15 and 16 months. The woman and the two older children were made to lie down on the ground and shot in the head. The apparent motive was robbery, and it is possible that the victims were killed because they recognized Pooler.  The prosecutor decided not to seek a death sentence against Hutchinson after an earlier jury deadlocked in the penalty phase of Pooler’s trial.  A jury convicted Hutchinson of four counts of second-degree murder, and he was sentenced to four consecutive life terms.

Source: Baton Rouge Advocate 4/9/04 (2004 WL 58398950)

PS 19.  William Harry Meece, age 21

County and State: Adair, Kentucky 

Date of Crime: 2/26/93

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Margaret Wellnitz Appleton (then an 18-year-old college student) and Meece plotted together to kill Appleton’s family.  Appleton and Meece killed Appleton’s stepfather, Joseph Wellnitz, her mother, Beth, and her brother, Dennis.  Appleton received a large inheritance after the killings.  Meece’s ex-wife provided the break in the police investigation a decade later because Meece had confessed to her.  Meece agreed to testify against Appleton, and the prosecutor recommended a sentence for Meece of life with the possibility of parole in 25 years.  Appleton pled guilty in January, 2005, and received a sentence of life without parole for 25 years.  

Sources: The Lexington Herald Leader 3/1/03 (2004 WL 2468234), 5/1/03 (2004 WL 18298583), 11/15/04 (2004 WL 98933182), 11/16/04 (2004 WL 98933257), 1/5/05 (2005 WL 56490900)

PS 20.  Keith Mercer, age 37

County and State: Ocean, New Jersey

Date of Crime: 11/29/00

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Mercer and his cohorts entered the house of Christine Stanton and her son Lonell Michael for an alleged gun deal but actually intended to rob Stanton and Michael.  Stanton and Michael were tied up, tortured, and shot execution style.  Mercer pled guilty to two counts of aggravated manslaughter in exchange for his testimony.  Mercer testified that he helped tie up Stanton and Michael and was present when they were shot.  He also testified that his cohort slashed Stanton’s throat and shot Stanton and Michael in the head.  His guilty plea allows him to be eligible for parole after 8 ˝ years and serve a maximum of 30 years in prison. 

Sources: Press of Atlantic City 2/17/05 (2005 WL 2882738); Ocean County Observer (Tom River, NJ) 9/15/04, 9/23/04, 4/13/05 LEXIS, News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 21.  William Wells, age 26

County and State: Duval, Florida

Date of Crime: 5/03

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Over an 11-day period, Wells killed his wife, brother-in-law, father-in-law, drug-dealer and an acquaintance for a total of five murders. He claimed he accidentally shot his wife and shot her brother and father when they discovered her death. He lured an acquaintance, Richard Reese, to his house, smoked a joint with him and shot and strangled him, because Wells believed he was having an affair with his wife. He shot his drug dealer, James Young, after the latter made a remark about getting a gun and stealing a bag of marijuana. He claimed Young was at the house delivering a bag of cocaine. He gave up to police after a stand-off, during which he released his four-year-old son, who may or may not have witnessed the murders.  At hearings, Wells had said he wanted to admit the murders and be given the death penalty. However, his public defender fought it, claiming Wells was mentally ill. After passing a competency hearing, he attempted to fire his public defender. He was given five consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole.

Source: The Orlando Sentinel, 10-1-04 (2004 WL 94516107); Firstcoastnews.com TV station website (www.firstcoastnews.com/printfullstory.aspx?storyid=10071); cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/04/national/printable556922.shtml

PS 22.  William Floyd Zamastil, age 26

County and State: San Bernardino, California

Date of Crime: 2/27/78

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Zamastil picked up two teenage hitchhikers – a brother and sister – then raped, tortured and bludgeoned them to death.  He pleaded guilty to two sentences of from 25-to-life; he was already serving a life sentence in Wisconsin for another murder.  It was not until a police detective dusted off the 25-year-old file on the hitchhiker murders that Zamastil was connected to them.

Sources: L.A. Daily News 6-2-04 (2004 WL 58343512), Press Enterprise (Riverside, CA) 5/29/04 (2004 WL 77924512), 6/2/04 (2004 WL 77924902)

PS 23.  Francisco Parilla David, age 34

County and State: Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Date of Crime: 8/22/03

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: David used a key to enter the home of a former girlfriend, who was the mother of the 4 children victims. The former girlfriend and a male companion were in the house.  David soaked the sofa with alcohol and set the house on fire, killing the 4 children.  The two adults were able to escape unharmed through a rear window, but could not rescue the children.  David pled guilty to a sentence of four consecutive life sentences. 

Sources:  Lancaster/New Era/ Intelligencer Journal 8/26/04 (2004 WL 61516207)

PS 24.  David Bruce Morton, age 25

County and State: Santa Fe, New Mexico

Date(s) of Crime: 11/83 and 6/84

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution:  Morton raped and murdered two young women in separate incidents in 1983 and 1984.  The cases were unsolved until recent advances in DNA technology connected him to the slayings.  In the meantime, Morton had incurred a life sentence in Texas for another rape/murder.  Pursuant to a plea bargain Morton was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Sources: Albuquerque Journal 2/11/04 (2004 WL 68682579); Santa Fe New Mexican 2/12/04 (2004 WL 60473140)

PS 25.  Evan David Smyth, age 39

County and State: Montgomery, Maryland

Date of Crime: 9/03

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Over the course of a few days, Smyth shot his drug-dealing partner Tristan Offiah in Offiah’s car, and beat and strangled his friend Shauntise Gill to death and deposited her body at the home of his parents, where he shot his friend Kay Carey in the head. He also stabbed Phillip Walker eight times and left him in a car trunk. He then went to his ex-wife’s house, where he slept on the couch. It was there police investigators caught up with him, and he went voluntarily.  Smyth pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to four life-without-parole terms.

Source: The Washington Post 4/30/04 (2004 WL 74484242), 11/5/04 (2004 WL 93189389)

PS 26.  Michael Bechtel, age 26

County and State: Schuylkill, Pennsylvania

Date of Crime: 8/15/02

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Bechtel shot and killed his estranged wife, who had a protection order against him, their 3-year-old son, and two of his wife’s friends.  Bechtel then shot himself in the head but survived.  Bechtel pled guilty to four first-degree murder charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. 

Sources: The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) 7/16/03, 1/22/04 LEXIS News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 27.  Richard Dean Wilson, age unknown

County and State: Alameda, California

Date of crime: 1986

Summary of facts of the crime: Wilson raped, beat, bound gagged and then repeatedly stabbed prostitute Angela Bledsoe. He was serving time for the almost identical murder of male security guard Chester Ballard when he was linked to Bledsoe’s killing, to which he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to life-without-parole.

Sources: San Francisco Chronicle, 7/30/04 (2004 WL 58603806)

PS 28, PS 29.  Shawn Michael Coble, age 33 & Adrian Rome Gargan, age 33

County and State: Multnomah, Oregon

Date of Crime: 11/5/02

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution:  Coble and Gargan were low-level meth dealers who believed the victim Forrest Paul had a machine that could counterfeit $100 bills.  They burglarized his apartment, and beat and bound him.  While Gargan and another cohort waited outside, Coble shot Paul in the head through a pillowcase.  Gargan denied knowing that Coble intended to kill Paul.  Coble and Gargan had pleaded guilty a week earlier to another murder.  Coble received a life-without parole sentence in the Paul murder; Gargan received a sentence that will make him eligible for parole in 25 years (although his plea in the other case will not make him eligible for parole for 38 years).

Sources: Oregonian (Portland) 5/20/04 (2004 WL 58867581)

PS 30.  Walter Dye, age 31 (re-sentence after appellate reversal)

County and State: Marion, Indiana

Date of Crime: 7/22/96

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: After Dye’s wife ended their relationship, Dye killed his wife’s daughter and two grandchildren.  Dye beat Hannah Clay, age 14, to death with a crowbar and a hammer.  He then stabbed and strangled Celeste Jones, age 7, and stabbed Lawrence Cowherd III, age 2.  Dye was sentenced to death by a jury.  His conviction was overturned because a juror failed to disclose that her brother was on death row.  Dye then pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. 

Sources: The Indianapolis Star 6/30/01, 11/9/04; The Indiana Lawyer 10/23/02 LEXIS, News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 31.  Ryan James Frazier, age 18

County and State: Victoria, Texas

Date of Crime: 12/13/02

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution:  Frazier stabbed his parents and 17-year-old brother to death in their family home and then set the home on fire.  Frazier’s motive for the killings was the inheritance of a large sum of money from his parents’ estate.  Frazier pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison, plus 99 years, which will run consecutively.  Frazier will not be eligible for parole for 100 years.

Sources: Fort Worth Star Telegram 5/26/04 (2004 WL 1898883); The Houston Chronicle 2/21/03, 5/26/04 LEXIS News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 32.  Daniel O. Jones, age 29

County and State: Jackson, Missouri

Date of Crime: 11/2/98, 3/10/99, and 8/16/99

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Jones said he had a casual sex relationship with Roxanne Coxley. He became annoyed that she kept interrupting sex to see if her boyfriend was coming home, so he stabbed her. He gave no details about the stabbing deaths of his other two victims Jenai Douglas (whose family he maintained a friendship with after the murder) and Kaliquah Gilliam (whom he stabbed 36 times). At the time he pled guilty to these three murders, he was serving life without parole for the murder of Candreia White, whom he stabbed 14 times in front of her children. 

Sources: The Kansas City Star 3/20/04 (2004 WL 73362799)

PS 33.  Cuong Gia Le, age 24

Federal, Virginia District Court

Date of Crime: 5/01

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Le was a member of an Asian street gang who fatally shot two men and wounded two others at a restaurant and fatally shot another man at a pool hall.  Le was a fugitive for two years before being caught.  The prosecution did not pursue the death penalty in exchange for Le’s cooperation in the ongoing investigation of the gang.  Le pled guilty to nine counts including the three murders, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, firearms, and racketeering.  Le was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.

Sources: Washington Post 12/20/03, 10/9/04, 2/19/05 LEXIS, News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 34.  Policarpio Espinoza Perez, age 22

County and State: Baltimore, Maryland

Date of Crime: 5/27/04

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Perez and Adan Canela allegedly killed Ricardo Solis Quezada, Jr. and Lucero Solis Quezada, both 9 years old, and their 10-year-old male cousin, Alexis Espejo. The children were found dead in their apartment.  One child was beheaded and the others were partially decapitated.  Perez was the uncle of the dead children, and his alleged accomplice Adan Canela was the children’s cousin.  Canela was 17 years old at the time of the murders, and too young for death eligibility under Maryland law.  Perez entered a not guilty plea and was awaiting trial as of the end of 2004.  The prosecution elected not to pursue a death sentence against Perez.  

Sources: The Baltimore Sun 11/4/04 (2004 WL 96473881)

PS 35.  Andrea Williams, age 32

County and State: Seminole, Florida 

Date of Crime: 5/9/04

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Williams pleaded guilty to killing her three children on Mother’s Day.  Williams confessed she gave Ilona (9), Ian (6), and Ivey (5) lethal doses of medicine, and then proceeded to stuff their bodies between the mattresses of a trundle bed.  The previous fall Williams was hospitalized for mental health issues.  She also had been investigated for multiple allegations of child abuse. Williams was sentenced to three life-without-parole terms. 

Sources: Florida Today 11/2/04 (2004 WL 60380767); Bradenton Herald (FL) 11/3/04 (2004WL 92093391)

PS 36.  Vernell Evans, age unknown (re-sentence after appellate reversal)

County and State: Clark, Nevada

Date of Crime: 5/92

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Evans and his accomplice killed four people the night of the Rodney King verdict riots.  They chose this night because they knew the police were already busy with the riots.  They beat and shot to death Samantha Scotti because they suspected she had cooperated with police in a drug investigation.  They also shot to death three of her friends in the apartment in order to eliminate witnesses.  Evans was sentenced to death but the sentence was overturned based on remarks made by the prosecution during the penalty phase of the trial.  Evans pled guilty to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Sources: Las Vegas Review 11/9/00, 11/16/00, 2/5/04, 3/18/04 LEXIS, News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 37.  Rico Garcia, age 31

Federal Court in Northern District of California 

Date of Crime: various years, as late as 1998

Summary of facts of the crime, and case resolution: Garcia was a member of the Nuestra Familia gang and killed Michael Castillo and Vincent Garcia.  Garcia was involved in multiple other killings. 

Sources: Monterey County Herald 12/9/04 (2004 WL 99632444), 12/15/04 (2004 WL 99632940)

PS 38.  Norman James, age 29

County and State: Essex, New Jersey

Date of Crime:  5/23/01

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: The victim was kidnapped by James and an accomplice when the victim believed that he was going to assist what he thought was a police officer in distress.  Instead, it was James, who forced the victim to his knees and shot him twice in the head with a .40-calibur gun and left him on the side of a highway embankment.  The case was pleaded to a 30-year sentence.

Sources: Star-Ledger (Newark) 4/9/04 (2004 WL 56526077)

PS 39.  Gary Swyck, age 41 

County and State:  Travis, Texas

Date of Crime: 7/11/04

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Swyck emerged out of his room in his home waving a gun and ordered his roommates on the floor.  He then shot three of his housemates because he asked him to move out.  One of the victims was a paraplegic.  Three other housemates escaped without being harmed.  Swyck pled guilty to two consecutive life terms.

Sources: Austin American-Statesman 7/13/03 (2003 WL 56773029), 1/16/04 (2004 WL 57653238)

PS 40, PS 41, PS 42.  Charles Akeen, age 20; Tarnarius Fisher, age unknown; Ted Petty age 22

County and State: Dallas, Texas

Date of Crime: 6/03

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Akeen, Fisher, Petty, and another man robbed a convenience store and killed two employees, Messele Gebremichael and Habtamu Ayane.  Gebremichael was shot two times in the back and Ayane was shot four times in the back and once in the shoulder.  The robbers attempted to shoot a third person in the store but the gun malfunctioned when they tried to shoot David McMorris in the head.  Petty was one of the two shooters.  Akens, Fisher, and Petty all received life sentences. 

Sources: Dallas Morning News 6/30/04, 7/3/04, 10/26/04 LEXIS, News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 43.  Eric Berrios, age 19

County and State: Harris, Texas

Date of Crime: 9/29/02

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Berrios and his cohorts were driving away from a nightclub when a man in another car began flirting with a woman in their car.  Berrios and two other men got out of the car with two assault rifles and a semiautomatic pistol and began shooting.  There were more than eighty shots fired.  Two men were killed and four people were wounded.  The prosecutor did not seek the death penalty.  Berrios was found guilty of capital murder, received a life sentence, and will be eligible for parole in 40 years. 

Sources: AP Alert - TN 1/31/04 12:52:17 (2004 WL APALERTTN); Houston Chronicle 1/31/04 LEXIS, News Library, USPAPR file.

PS 44.  Christopher Scott, age 20

County and State: Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Date(s) of Crime: 5/1/98, 5/23/99, 10/9/99, 11/3/99

Summary of Facts of Crime, and case resolution: Scott was in prison serving life for the murder of his uncle when he contacted authorities and offered to provide information about at least one unsolved murder.  Eventually, Scott confessed to four other murders during an 18-month time span in 1998-99: of a man who had “disrespected” his female cousin; of another man in a gang-related slaying; of a third man whom he shot ten times outside a bar; and of a fourth man who was a bystander caught in the crossfire between Scott and a rival gang member.  He received four additional life sentences.