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Darrell Lee Arizona Death Row

Darrell Lee was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for a murder robbery. According to court documents Darrell Lee and Karen Thompson would kidnap John Calvin and force the man to give them his credit cards and debit card plus the pin number in order to make withdrawals at an ATM. John Calvin was bound and placed in the trunk of the car for eight hours. Darrell Lee attempted to make an escape when the vehicle stopped however he was caught by Darrell Lee. Lee would strangle John Calvin while Karen Thompson hit him repeatedly in the head with a rock. Darrell Lee would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

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Darrell Lee 2021 Information

ASPC Florence, Central Unit
PO Box 8200
DARRELL E. LEE 069732
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

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On December 5, 1991, defendant Darrel Lee and a companion, Karen Thompson, approached 57-year-old John Anderson as he was leaving a Phoenix medical clinic and asked him for a ride. When Anderson agreed, they got into his car. Although unarmed, Lee announced that he had a gun and directed Anderson to drive south on the freeway. When they arrived in Chandler, Thompson demanded Anderson’s wallet, which contained a small amount of cash, some credit cards, and an automatic teller machine (ATM) card. Thompson, accompanied by defendant, used the ATM and credit cards repeatedly throughout the next five days, both before and after Anderson’s murder.

At some point, defendant suggested that they tie up Anderson and dump him alongside the road. After binding his hands and feet and placing him in a ditch, however, the couple decided not to leave him there. Instead, they put him in the trunk of the car. During most of this time, Anderson was pleading for his life.

Darrell Lee and Thompson drove back to Phoenix and then toward California, stopping frequently to use cocaine and alcohol. They eventually decided to kill Anderson to avoid apprehension. Defendant stated that he would asphyxiate Anderson with the car’s exhaust fumes and obtained a hose for this purpose. The couple discussed the anticipated killing as they continued their journey. Approximately eight hours after placing Anderson in the trunk, defendant and Thompson turned back toward Phoenix.

Anderson somehow managed to get untied and pry open the trunk of the car. He found a windshield sun screen reading “NEED HELP; CALL POLICE,” and held it out of the vehicle. Two men in another car saw the sign and the frightened victim and called the police at the first available telephone. At approximately 11:45 p.m., two officers responded to the call. Because of darkness and rugged terrain in the area, however, they were able to conduct only a rudimentary search.

Meanwhile, Darrell Lee had exited the interstate highway and stopped the car at about 10:30 p.m. He and Thompson attempted to suffocate Anderson with car fumes by running the hose from the exhaust pipe into the trunk, but were unsuccessful because Anderson kept pushing up the trunk lid. During a pause in which the couple used more cocaine and discussed the situation, the victim escaped from the trunk and attempted to flee. Defendant chased Anderson and wrestled him to the ground. Thompson then brought defendant a belt, with which he attempted to strangle Anderson. The belt broke, and defendant yelled for Thompson to get a rock. As defendant choked Anderson with his hands, Thompson hit the victim in the head with the rock, fracturing his skull.

Defendant and Thompson placed the body in the trunk of the car. After driving to California, and then back to Phoenix, the couple eventually went to Tucson. There, they purchased a shovel and buried Anderson in a shallow grave outside the city.

The foregoing facts are taken primarily from Thompson’s testimony. Darrell Lee initially denied all participation in the crimes, later admitted some involvement with the car and the credit card spending in California, and finally confessed to a defense-requested psychiatrist that he was present during the murder and was holding Anderson down when Thompson struck him. Evidence found at the scene of the crime included the sun shield, pieces of a belt containing blood spatters, defendant’s prescription sunglasses, and a rock bearing blood and hair. Anderson’s trifocals were found in the trunk of the automobile, along with blood stains matching his type. Information given by Thompson after she entered into a plea agreement in April 1992 led to the discovery of the victim’s remains.

*553 On January 28, 1992, a La Paz County grand jury indicted Darrell Lee and Thompson on one count each of first-degree murder, kidnapping, theft, armed robbery, and credit card theft. Defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges. Thompson entered a plea of guilty to first-degree murder and armed robbery. A condition of her plea agreement was that she testify against defendant. On November 18, 1992, following a jury trial, defendant was convicted on all counts.

https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/supreme-court/1996/cr-93-0111-ap-2.html

Chad Lee Arizona Death Row

Chad Lee was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for the sexual assault and murder of a woman. According to court documents Chad Lee and fourteen year old David Hunt would kidnap the victim Linda Reynolds. The woman was sexually assaulted and then forced to make a withdrawal at an ATM. Linda Reynolds would be brought to a remote location where she was shot in the head and then stabbed in the chest. A week later Chad Lee and David Hunt would rob and murder a cab driver and stole the vehicle. Chad Lee was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

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Chad Lee 2021 Information

ASPC Florence, Central Unit
PO Box 8200
CHAD A. LEE 110783
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

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On April 6, 1992, Chad Lee and 14-year-old David Hunt kidnapped Linda Reynolds, a Pizza Hut delivery person, from a vacant house. They forced her to remove her clothing in the backyard. Lee and Hunt drove her out to the desert area of Camelback and 115th Avenue. They destroyed her car, sexually assaulted her, and robbed her. Lee and Hunt then drove her to the First Interstate Bank at 83rd Avenue and Indian School, where they forced her to withdraw $20 from the automatic teller machine. They then drove her back to the desert area. Chad Lee shot Linda in the head. However, because Linda was still alive, Lee stabbed her twice in the chest, perforating her heart and lung. On April 15, 1992, Chad Lee and Hunt robbed and murdered David Lacey, a Metro Taxi Cab driver. Lee shot David Lacey four times, and dumped his body. Chad Lee and Hunt abandoned the cab in another location.

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Alvie Kiles Arizona Death Row

Alvie Kiles was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for the murder of a woman and her two children. According to court documents Alvie Kiles following an argument would murder Valerie Gunnell by beating her to death with a bumper jack. Alvie Kiles would then murder 9-month-old Lecresha and 5-year-old Shemaeah. Alvie Kiles would show off his killings to a friend. The two children bodies would be dumped into a river and Lecrsha body would be found in Mexico, Shemaeh body was never found. Alvie Kiles was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

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Alvie Kiles 2021 Information

ASPC Florence, Central Unit
PO Box 8200
ALVIE C. KILES 058243
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

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Kiles lived in Yuma with his girlfriend, Valerie Gunnell, and her two daughters, 9-month-old Lecresha and 5-year-old Shemaeah. On February 9, 1989, Kiles used a bumper jack to bludgeon Valerie to death in their home. He then killed the two children because they started “screaming and hollering” as he killed their mother. Kiles bragged about the murders to an acquaintance and took him on a tour of the murder scene, during which Kiles stepped on Valerie’s head. Lecresha’s body was later found floating in a canal in Mexico, but Shemaeah’s body was never found.

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The Arizona Supreme Court on Monday upheld the guilty verdict and death sentence of a Yuma man convicted of bludgeoning his girlfriend to death.

In a unanimous decision, the justices rejected arguments by Alvie Copeland Kiles that there were irregularities in the trial at which he was found guilty of the 1989 death of Valerie Gunnell. These range from claims of ineffective assistance of counsel to what he said was extensive pre-trial publicity, notably nearly 100 articles about the case in the Yuma Daily Sun.

The justices also were not swayed by arguments he should be spared the death penalty.

Monday’s ruling does not end Kiles’ legal fight: He still has issues he can present to federal courts, including the constitutionality of the death sentence.

It also does not affect separate guilty verdicts or sentences against him for the murders of Gunnell’s two daughters, one 5, the other 9 months.

While he was sentenced to death after a first trial, those convictions were overturned. A second jury could not agree on punishment, resulting in consecutive sentences of life behind bars. He did not appeal.

According to testimony at the trial, Kiles admitted to a neighbor that he had killed Gunnell, with whom he fought over stealing her food stamps to support his cocaine habit. Kiles also said he killed the girls because they were “crying and hollering and screaming.”

When the neighbor doubted the story, Kiles took him in the apartment which had blood on the floor and all over the walls and ceilings.

Gunnell’s body revealed she died of skull fractures and a brain laceration. The younger daughter, whose body was found in a canal in Mexico, also had head injuries; the body of the older daughter never was found.

Kiles argued he could not be guilty of premeditation because he was intoxicated and that the jury should have been instructed about that.

But Justice Michael Ryan, writing for the high court, said the evidence presented to the jury was enough for them to find premeditation. That included Kiles’ going to his car and getting his tire iron, returning to the apartment and killing Gunnell.

Anyway, Ryan wrote, intoxication is only a defense in questions of whether someone did something intentionally. He said it is irrelevant in cases of first-degree murder to whether someone acted intentionally.

Ryan also said there was nothing wrong with holding the trial — Kiles’ second — in Yuma despite 98 articles in the Yuma Daily Sun that detailed evidence in the case, including that he had told some people he was guilty. The justice said the evidence showed at best regular media coverage during the 10 years between the crime and the new trial and there was nothing to show that the extent of the coverage was presumptively prejudicial to Kiles

The high court also said there were enough “aggravating circumstances” around the murder, including multiple deaths and that a crime committed in an especially cruel or heinous fashion, to overcome any claims by Kiles that he should be spared the death penalty.

https://tucson.com/news/local/crime/verdict-and-death-sentence-upheld-in-89-yuma-murder/article_a7927965-0f9e-597f-9c38-1c5ec5539a81.html

George Kayer Arizona Death Row

George Kayer was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for a robbery murder. According to court documents George Kayer who was wanted on a parole violation would borrow money from the victim, Delbert Hass, so he could gamble. George Kayer, his girlfriend and Delbret Hass would travel to a casino where Kayer lost all of his money. On the way back they would pull off into a wooded area where Delbert Hass got out to relieve himself. George Kayer would follow and shoot the victim. George Kayer would walk back to the car and then returned to the victim discovering he was still alive and shot him again. George Kayer would drive to the victims home where he stole a number of possessions before leaving. George Kayer would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

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George Kayer 2021 Information

ASPC Florence, Central Unit
PO Box 8200
GEORGE R. KAYER 077910
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

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George Russell Kayer, who was wanted for violating his probation, borrowed money from his friend, Delbert L. Haas, so he could gamble in Laughlin. Kayer’s girlfriend, Lisa Dawn Kester, went with Kayer and Haas to Laughlin where Kayer lost all his money in heavy gambling. Kayer told Haas, however, that he had won big, but his winnings had been stolen from him. Prior to returning to Arizona, Kayer told his girlfriend that they were going to rob Haas and then kill him. When they stopped in Kingman for some beer, Kayer armed himself with a hand gun.

Later, they turned off the Interstate and drove into some woods so the victim could relieve himself. Kayer stopped his girlfriend from leaving the vehicle. He then got out of the van and shot Delbert Haas in the back of the head. He returned to the van with Haas’ wallet, watch, and some jewelry. They drove a short distance, then Kayer said “Oh damn, I didn’t get his keys.” They returned to the scene of the killing. After checking the body, Kayer returned to the van for the gun telling Kester that the victim was not dead. He then shot Haas again in the head. With his keys, they went to Haas’ home in Spring Valley where Kayer stole some guns, a camera, and some jewelry.

Eventually, they returned to Nevada. About 10 days after the murder, Kester reported the murder to officials saying she was upset because Kayer was gambling away all the money and when she confronted him about it, he said “You sometimes have to kill people to survive.” Kayer was convicted of both premeditated and felony murder, as well as trafficking in stolen property, and theft of a firearm both of which were enhanced with two historical prior felony convictions.

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On December 3, 1994, two couples searching for Christmas trees on a dirt road in Yavapai County discovered a body, later identified as Haas. Haas had been shot twice, evidenced by entry bullet wounds located roughly behind each ear. On December 12, 1994, Yavapai County Detective Danny Martin received a phone call from Las Vegas police officer Larry Ross. Ross told Martin that a woman named Lisa Kester approached a security guard at the Pioneer Hotel in Las Vegas and said that her boyfriend, the defendant, had killed a man in Arizona. Kester said a warrant had been issued for defendant’s arrest in relation to a different crime, a fact Las Vegas police officers later confirmed. Kester gave Las Vegas police officers the gun she said was used to kill Haas, and she led the officers to credit cards belonging to Haas that were found inside a white van in the hotel parking lot. Kester appeared agitated to the police officers and security guards present and said she had not come forward sooner because she feared defendant would kill her, too. She asked to be placed in the witness protection program. She described defendant’s physical appearance to the assembled officers and agreed to go with an officer to the police station.

¶ 3 A combination of Pioneer Hotel security guards and Las Vegas police officers soon spotted defendant leaving the hotel. The officers arrested defendant and took him to the police station for questioning. Kester had already been arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Detectives Martin and Roger Williamson flew to Las Vegas on December 13 to interrogate Kester and the defendant. Kester gave a complete account of events that she said led to Haas’ death. Defendant, in contrast, spoke briefly with the detectives before invoking his Miranda right to have an attorney present. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444 (1966).

¶ 4 Kester’s statements to Detectives Martin and Williamson formed the basis of the State’s prosecution of defendant. She said that defendant continually bragged about a gambling system that he had concocted to defeat the Las Vegas casinos. However, neither defendant nor Kester ever had money with which to gamble. Defendant was a traveling salesman of sorts, selling T-shirts, jewelry, and knickknacks. His only other income came from bilking the government of benefits through fake identities that both defendant and Kester created. Defendant learned that Haas recently received money from an insurance settlement. Kester and defendant visited Haas at his house near Cordes Lakes late in November 1994. Kester said that defendant convinced Haas to come gambling with them. On November 30, 1994, defendant, Kester, and Haas left for Laughlin, Nevada in defendant’s van.

¶ 5 The trio stayed in the same hotel room in Laughlin, and after the first night of gambling, defendant claimed to have “won big.” Haas agreed to loan the defendant about $100 of his settlement money so that defendant could further utilize his gambling system. Defendant’s gambling system proved unsuccessful, and he promptly lost all the money Haas had given him. However, defendant told Haas again that he had won big but that someone had stolen his winnings. Kester asked defendant what they were going to do now that they were out of money. Defendant said he was going to rob Haas. When Kester asked how defendant was going to get away with robbing someone he knew, defendant said, “I guess I’ll just have to kill him.”

¶ 6 The three left Laughlin to return to Arizona on December 2, 1994. On the road, all three — but mostly Haas — consumed alcohol. Defendant and Haas argued continually over how defendant was going to repay Haas. The van made several stops for bathroom breaks and to purchase snacks. At one of these stops, defendant took a gun that he stored under the seat of the van and put it in his pants. Defendant asked Kester if she was “going to be all right with this.” Kester said she would need a warning before defendant killed Haas.

¶ 7 Defendant charted a course through back roads that he claimed would be a shortcut to Haas’ house. While on one such road, defendant stopped the van near Camp Wood Road in Yavapai County. At this stop, Kester said Haas exited the van and began urinating behind it. Kester started to climb out of the van as well, but defendant motioned to her with the gun and pushed her back into the van. The van had windows in the rear and on each side through which Kester viewed what occurred next. Defendant walked quietly up to Haas from behind while he was urinating, trained the gun at Haas’ head at point-blank range, and shot him behind the ear. Defendant dragged Haas’ body off the side of the road to the bushes where the body was eventually found. Defendant returned to the car carrying Haas’ wallet, watch, and jewelry.

¶ 8 Defendant and Kester began to drive away in the van when defendant realized that he had forgotten to retrieve Haas’ house keys. He turned the van around and returned to the murder scene. Kester and defendant both looked for the body; Kester spotted it and then returned to the van. Defendant returned to the van, too, and asked for the gun, saying that Haas did not appear to be dead. Kester said defendant approached Haas’ body and that she heard a second shot.

¶ 9 Kester and George Kayer then drove to Haas’ home. Defendant entered the home and stole several guns, a camera, and other of Haas’ personal property. He attempted unsuccessfully to find Haas’ bank PIN number in order to access Haas’ bank accounts. Defendant and Kester sold Haas’ guns and jewelry at pawn shops and flea markets over the course of the next week, usually under the aliases of David Flynn and Sharon Hughes. Defendant and Kester went to Las Vegas where defendant used the proceeds from selling these items to test his gambling system once again and to pay for a room at the Pioneer Hotel. At this time, Kester approached the Pioneer Hotel security guard and reported defendant’s crime.

https://casetext.com/case/state-v-kayer

Ronnie Joseph Arizona Death Row

Ronnie Joseph was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for the murder of a teenager. According to court documents Ronnie Joseph was involved in an argument with his girlfriend when he pulled out a gun and shot her. Ronnie Joseph would then shoot her roommate and a fourteen year old boy, Tommar Brown who would die from his injuries. Ronnie Joseph would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

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Ronnie Joseph 2021 Information

ASPC Eyman, Browning Unit
PO Box 3400
RONNIE L. JOSEPH 047079
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

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On April 1, 2004, Ronnie Joseph went to the apartment of his girlfriend Darlene Brown. Jerry Roundtree was Darlene’s roommate; also living at the apartment was Darlene’s sister’s son, Tommar Brown. Joseph had his own set of keys to the apartment and would come and go on a usual basis.

On this particular day, Joseph’s keys did not fit the lock, and he somehow still gained access into the apartment. Joseph entered the master bedroom where Darlene was. Joseph and Darlene engaged in a violent argument and fight; he subsequently shot her twice. Jerry kicked the door in and Ronnie Joseph shot him in the hand, causing him to collapse. Joseph then began firing shots in the bathroom where Tommar was. Jerry attempted to leave the apartment but Joseph shot him in the chest before he reached the front door. Joseph then returned to Darlene’s bedroom and shot her two more times. Jerry and Darlene survived their injuries, Tommar died at the scene from a gunshot to the chest

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Ronnie Joseph went to the apartment where his wife, Darlene Brown, lived with Jerry Roundtree and her fourteen-year-old nephew, Tommar Brown. Joseph and Darlene began to argue in Darlene’s locked bedroom, and Joseph pulled a gun and shot her. Jerry kicked open the bedroom door, but turned and ran when he saw Joseph holding a gun. Joseph shot at him, hitting him in the hand.

¶ 3 As Jerry fled, he saw Tommar go into the bathroom. Joseph pushed open the bathroom door and fired two or three shots, hitting Tommar in his left buttock and chest. The shot to Tommar’s chest passed through his heart, killing him.

¶ 4 Joseph saw Jerry near the front door of the apartment and shot him in the chest before returning to Darlene’s bedroom and firing a few more shots, at least two of which hit Darlene. Joseph then fled.

¶ 5 When police arrived, both Darlene and Jerry identified Ronnie Joseph as the shooter. Police apprehended Joseph three days later.

¶ 6 The jury found Ronnie Joseph guilty of the first degree murder of Tommar, attempted second degree murder of Darlene, attempted first degree murder of Jerry, first degree burglary, and misconduct involving weapons. In the aggravation phase of the trial, the jury found two aggravating factors: Joseph previously had been convicted of a serious offense, A.R.S. § 13–751(F)(2) (2010), and the victim was less than fifteen years old, id. § 13–751(F)(9). Joseph did not present any mitigating evidence in the penalty phase, and the jury determined that he should be sentenced to death for Tommar’s murder. The trial judge imposed prison terms for the other convictions.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-supreme-court/1609565.html