Ricardo Gonzalez was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of a security officer. According to court documents Ricardo Gonzales along with Leonardo Franqui, Pablo San Martin, and two other associates, robbed the Kislak National Bank in North Miami, Florida. During the robbery security officer Steven Bauer was shot and killed. Ricardo Gonzalez would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.
Ricardo Gonzalez 2021 Information
| DC Number: | 123763 |
|---|---|
| Name: | GONZALEZ, RICARDO |
| Race: | HISPANIC |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 01/20/1970 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 10/18/1994 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Pablo San Martin 2021 Information
| DC Number: | 445904 |
|---|---|
| Name: | SAN MARTIN, PABLO |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 07/23/1967 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 10/18/1994 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Leonardo Franqui 2021 Information
| DC Number: | 445903 |
|---|---|
| Name: | FRANQUI, LEONARDO |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 09/26/1970 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 10/18/1994 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Ricardo Gonzalez More News
Fernandez and codefendants Leonardo Franqui, Ricardo Gonzalez, San Martin, and Abreu were charged with first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense, third-degree grand theft, and burglary.1 Fernandez was tried before a jury in May 1994.
On January 3, 1992, a cash box was stolen at gunpoint from a drive-in teller at the Kislak National Bank in North Miami. The perpetrators fled the scene in two stolen grey Chevrolet Caprice cars. During the robbery, two gunmen shot and killed North Miami police officer Steven Bauer. Shortly thereafter, the stolen vehicles were found abandoned two blocks from the bank.
The day after the murder, appellant was watching television at the home of Claudio Prado when a report of the North Miami bank robbery and murder was broadcast. Prado testified that appellant listened to the television report and then told Prado that he had been involved in the crime and wanted to see a Santeria priest known as a babalao. Prado testified that he took appellant that same day to see Lazaro Hernandez, who was a babalao, and that appellant asked Hernandez to perform a ritual to prevent appellant from being apprehended. Hernandez subsequently informed police as to appellant’s statements to him regarding the crime and shared a $100,000 reward with Prado.
Upon his arrest, appellant led police to the codefendants, who confessed that they had participated in the robbery and murder. Ballistics evidence showed that Gonzalez fired a .38 revolver, hitting the victim in the neck, and Franqui fired a .9 mm handgun. San Martin took the money tray, and Abreu drove a getaway car in which he waited a few blocks from the crime scene and then transported the perpetrators to his apartment.
Five months after the robbery and murder, inmate Luis Sanchez befriended appellant while both were in jail. Sanchez testified that appellant told him that a friend named Gary Cromer had described a bank robbery plan to him and that appellant had “stolen” the plan for his own use. Appellant told Sanchez that he obtained the guns used in the robbery, stole the getaway cars, drove the codefendants to the crime scene, witnessed the crime, facilitated the getaway, and shared in the proceeds of the robbery. Cromer testified that he and a friend had devised the bank robbery plan in 1991, and Cromer had later described the plan to appellant. Three or four weeks before the crime, appellant introduced Cromer to the codefendants. Cromer then went with appellant and the codefendants to the bank and showed them the usual routine of the bank tellers as they opened their stations for business. Cromer said he did not participate in the robbery or share in the proceeds.
Abreu pled guilty prior to trial and received a life sentence. The remaining defendants moved in pretrial motions to suppress their confessions and sever their trials based upon their allegedly inconsistent statements given to police. After hearings, the court denied all of the codefendants’ motions except for appellant’s motion to sever his trial. Pursuant to the court’s order, the confessions of the codefendants were not admitted at trial against appellant. The codefendants were tried together with two juries, designated “Jury A” to hear appellant’s case and “Jury B” to hear the cases of Franqui, Gonzalez, and San Martin.2 Jury A found appellant guilty of first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and both counts of grand theft and burglary.
During the penalty phase, the State relied on evidence presented during the guilt phase. The defense presented testimony of appellant’s mother, who testified that she once asked appellant to sell cocaine in order to raise money to post bond for appellant’s father, who was in jail on a drug charge. Appellant’s sister testified that she and appellant used illegal drugs at home and that their parents never tried to stop them. The defense also presented testimony of a prison chaplain who stated that appellant was remorseful and a psychologist who stated that appellant tested just below the low-average range of intelligence and that he had a personality disorder. Appellant testified that he tried to back out of the robbery on the morning of the crime but could not because Franqui threatened to shoot him and harm his family. The jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of seven to five.
A sentencing proceeding was held before the court, and additional testimony was presented. The defense presented a transcript of the statement that appellant made to police two weeks after the murder of Officer Bauer in which appellant stated that he participated in the crime under duress because of threats by Franqui. The State presented testimony of Hialeah police detective Albert Nabut, who interviewed appellant after an attempted robbery and murder near Hialeah. The detective stated that appellant told him he had informed Franqui and San Martin of the existence of a check-cashing business run by Danilo Cabanas and his son. Franqui, San Martin, and Abreu subsequently attempted to rob Cabanas at gunpoint after he left a bank with $25,000 accompanied by his son and Raul Lopez. During the attempted robbery, Lopez was killed by a bullet consistent with a .357 revolver used by Franqui.3