Post by CCADP on Aug 16, 2005 6:44:00 GMT -5
Third Edinburg massacre trial begins
August 16,2005
Brittney Booth
The Monitor
EDINBURG — Hidalgo County prosecutors on Monday began Rodolfo Medrano’s capital murder trial by portraying a high-ranking Tri-City Bomber who provided his underlings with military assault weapons to do his dirty work.
Meanwhile, Medrano’s defense lawyers Hector Villarreal and Oscar Rene Flores continued to accuse prosecutors of withholding evidence and denied Medrano’s connection with the murders of six men in north Edinburg on Jan. 5, 2003.
Known by law enforcement as "Creeper," Medrano, 26, is one of 13 accused in the slayings and the third man to stand trial for the slayings, which have put two other gang members — Juan Raul Navarro Ramirez and Humberto Garza — on death row. Judge Mario Ramirez is presiding over the trial in his state District 332nd courtroom. If found guilty, jurors will sentence Medrano to life in prison or death row.
Medrano is being tried under the law of parties, where a person who conspires with others to commit a criminal act that ends in murder can face the same punishment as the murderer.
Before swearing in the jury, the judge acted on Villarreal’s request and ordered prosecutors to provide the defense with the criminal records and photos of the slain men shown during jury selection. He also told prosecutors to turn over law enforcement reports that Villarreal said had not been made available to the defense.
The judge said he would take under advisement Villarreal’s request to videotape proceedings and to provide him with a daily copy of the court reporter’s records. Prosecutors said the cameras could intimidate jurors.
Last week, Villarreal subpoenaed his political adversary, District Attorney Rene Guerra, and several prosecutors, claiming they were tampering with witnesses and hiding evidence.
The judge quashed the subpoenas, but told Villarreal he could re-issue them if needed.
In her opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Judith Cantu told jurors that the men found shot several times at 2915 E. Monte Cristo were "murdered" by Tri-City Bombers gang members who followed a military chain of command. Medrano ranked as a sergeant, acting as the gang’s treasurer and "armorer," stocking and maintaining the gang’s arsenal.
"He provided this gang their weapons. We are talking about high-powered military assault weapons, the type of weapons used in combat," Cantu said.
The day before the shooting occurred, fellow gang members asked Medrano to participate in stealing a large amount of marijuana, but "he didn’t do those sort of things," Cantu said. "He drove those weapons to another gang member’s house. He went out with his family and let the mules do the dirty work."
Cantu told the jury that the gang members used the weapons Medrano provided to slay the men, shooting each several times.
"The defendent put this high-powered military assault weapons into the hands of his fellow gang members and anticipated life would be taken," she said.
Villarreal opted not to make an opening statement. Outside the jury’s presence, he snubbed Assistant District Attorney Cregg Thompson’s request to have Medrano — who was wearing a leg brace but not handcuffs — moved away from him for "security reasons."
Defendants commonly sit in the middle of their defense attorneys, but Medrano sat in between Flores and Thompson.
Villarreal said he needed to sit next to his co-counsel Flores and moving Medrano would require Villarreal to face his back to the jury; which he said was "very impolite."
A sheriff’s deputy sat on the bench immediately behind Medrano.
Prosecutors called their first witness, Edinburg Police officer William Wade Walls, who responded first to the crime scene. He described discovering a body outside in the grass, and finding four men inside the smaller of the two homes on the property.
Walls told jurors Rose Gutierrez, the mother of two of the victims, emerged from the larger home crying. The men shot her son, Jerry Eugene Hidalgo, in the next room, but left Gutierrez tied to a hospital bed.
Walls said he responded to the scene and then secured access to the property, but was not responsible for the slaying’s investigation.
Under cross-examination from Villarreal, Walls said he had no evidence linking Medrano to the crime.
———
Brittney Booth covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4437.
August 16,2005
Brittney Booth
The Monitor
EDINBURG — Hidalgo County prosecutors on Monday began Rodolfo Medrano’s capital murder trial by portraying a high-ranking Tri-City Bomber who provided his underlings with military assault weapons to do his dirty work.
Meanwhile, Medrano’s defense lawyers Hector Villarreal and Oscar Rene Flores continued to accuse prosecutors of withholding evidence and denied Medrano’s connection with the murders of six men in north Edinburg on Jan. 5, 2003.
Known by law enforcement as "Creeper," Medrano, 26, is one of 13 accused in the slayings and the third man to stand trial for the slayings, which have put two other gang members — Juan Raul Navarro Ramirez and Humberto Garza — on death row. Judge Mario Ramirez is presiding over the trial in his state District 332nd courtroom. If found guilty, jurors will sentence Medrano to life in prison or death row.
Medrano is being tried under the law of parties, where a person who conspires with others to commit a criminal act that ends in murder can face the same punishment as the murderer.
Before swearing in the jury, the judge acted on Villarreal’s request and ordered prosecutors to provide the defense with the criminal records and photos of the slain men shown during jury selection. He also told prosecutors to turn over law enforcement reports that Villarreal said had not been made available to the defense.
The judge said he would take under advisement Villarreal’s request to videotape proceedings and to provide him with a daily copy of the court reporter’s records. Prosecutors said the cameras could intimidate jurors.
Last week, Villarreal subpoenaed his political adversary, District Attorney Rene Guerra, and several prosecutors, claiming they were tampering with witnesses and hiding evidence.
The judge quashed the subpoenas, but told Villarreal he could re-issue them if needed.
In her opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Judith Cantu told jurors that the men found shot several times at 2915 E. Monte Cristo were "murdered" by Tri-City Bombers gang members who followed a military chain of command. Medrano ranked as a sergeant, acting as the gang’s treasurer and "armorer," stocking and maintaining the gang’s arsenal.
"He provided this gang their weapons. We are talking about high-powered military assault weapons, the type of weapons used in combat," Cantu said.
The day before the shooting occurred, fellow gang members asked Medrano to participate in stealing a large amount of marijuana, but "he didn’t do those sort of things," Cantu said. "He drove those weapons to another gang member’s house. He went out with his family and let the mules do the dirty work."
Cantu told the jury that the gang members used the weapons Medrano provided to slay the men, shooting each several times.
"The defendent put this high-powered military assault weapons into the hands of his fellow gang members and anticipated life would be taken," she said.
Villarreal opted not to make an opening statement. Outside the jury’s presence, he snubbed Assistant District Attorney Cregg Thompson’s request to have Medrano — who was wearing a leg brace but not handcuffs — moved away from him for "security reasons."
Defendants commonly sit in the middle of their defense attorneys, but Medrano sat in between Flores and Thompson.
Villarreal said he needed to sit next to his co-counsel Flores and moving Medrano would require Villarreal to face his back to the jury; which he said was "very impolite."
A sheriff’s deputy sat on the bench immediately behind Medrano.
Prosecutors called their first witness, Edinburg Police officer William Wade Walls, who responded first to the crime scene. He described discovering a body outside in the grass, and finding four men inside the smaller of the two homes on the property.
Walls told jurors Rose Gutierrez, the mother of two of the victims, emerged from the larger home crying. The men shot her son, Jerry Eugene Hidalgo, in the next room, but left Gutierrez tied to a hospital bed.
Walls said he responded to the scene and then secured access to the property, but was not responsible for the slaying’s investigation.
Under cross-examination from Villarreal, Walls said he had no evidence linking Medrano to the crime.
———
Brittney Booth covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4437.