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Leroy McGill Arizona Death Row

Leroy McGill was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for the brutal murder of a man. According to court documents Leroy McGill was accused of stealing a shotgun by the victim that resulted in McGill being thrown out of his residence. Leroy McGill would fill up a cup with gasoline, doused Charles Perez and Nova Banta with it and set them on fire. Charles Perez would die from his injuries. Leroy McGill would later brag that he mixed the gas with styrofoam so it would burn hotter and longer. Leroy McGill would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Arizona Death Row Inmate List

Leroy McGill 2021 Information

ASPC Florence, Central Unit
PO Box 8200
LEROY MCGILL 058962
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

Leroy McGill More News

On July 13, 2002, Leroy Dean McGill walked into an apartment in north Phoenix carrying a cup full of gasoline. McGill doused Charles Perez and Nova Banta with the gasoline and lit them on fire. Perez subsequently died from his burns. Banta was so severely burned that treating physicians had to put her in a medically-induced coma in order to save her life. McGill, a twice convicted felon (armed robberies), committed these crimes because the victims had accused him of stealing a shotgun. McGill had been staying with the owner of the gun. As a result of the accusation, the gun owner threw McGill out of his home, causing McGill to become homeless. After starting the fire, McGill asked an acquaintance if he could smell burning flesh. He also bragged that he had mixed the gasoline with Styrofoam to form a gel so that it would stick to the victims and burn hotter.

Leroy McGill Other News

In July 2002, thirty-nine-year-old Leroy McGill was living in Sophia Barnhart’s house. His girlfriend, Jonna “Angel” Hardesty, also lived there, as did Justin Johnson and Barnhart’s oldest son, Dean. Jack Yates had a small one-bedroom apartment in a duplex within walking distance of Barnhart’s home. Hardesty’s brother, Jeff Uhl, sometimes stayed in Yates’ apartment. Eddie and Kim Keith, along with their two daughters, also stayed with Yates, as did Charles Perez and his girlfriend, Nova Banta. Yates had his own bedroom, and the others slept in a common room that also served as kitchen and living room.

¶ 3 Perez and Banta had recently accused McGill and Hardesty of stealing a shotgun from the Yates apartment. This accusation exacerbated an already contentious relationship between Banta and Hardesty.

¶ 4 On July 12, 2002, McGill, Hardesty, Barnhart, and Johnson spent the evening at Barnhart’s house smoking marijuana purchased from Perez. At approximately 3:30 a.m. on July 13, McGill went to Yates’ apartment. Uhl and Eddie Keith came out of the apartment to talk with McGill. McGill told Keith to get his wife and children out of the apartment because he “was going to teach [Perez] and [Yates] a lesson, that nobody gets away with talking about [McGill and Hardesty].” In response to Keith’s pleading, McGill agreed to spare Yates, but said it was too late for Perez. McGill also told Keith that he “was the only one who knew about it and that if anybody said anything about it, that [McGill] would know who said it,” then remarked that Keith “had pretty little girls.” Keith and his family fled the apartment.

¶ 5 Uhl admitted McGill into the apartment shortly thereafter. Perez and Banta were sitting next to each other on a couch that was next to the front door. Yates was also inside and either lying down on another couch or in his bedroom. Banta testified that McGill “turned around and looked at me and [Perez] and said [Perez] shouldn’t talk behind other people’s backs, and he poured the gasoline on us and quickly lit a match and threw it at us.” McGill had added pieces of a styrofoam cup to the gasoline to create a napalm-like substance that would stick to his victims and cause them more pain. Perez and Banta, both engulfed in flames, ran out of the apartment.

¶ 6 Yates and Uhl also escaped the apartment, which had caught on fire. Yates put out the flames on Banta using a blanket. Mary Near, the occupant of the other apartment in the duplex, awoke to the smell of smoke, quickly dressed, and ran from her apartment, which was also on fire. When firefighters arrived, the apartment was fully engulfed in flames.

¶ 7 At the hospital, Perez, screaming in pain, pleaded, “Help me, help me. Get the pain away.” Burns covered eighty percent of Perez’s body and caused his death on July 14, 2002. Banta was also conscious and in extreme pain; third degree burns covered approximately three-quarters of her body. At the hospital, Banta identified McGill as the person who set her on fire.

¶ 8 Meanwhile, at Barnhart’s house, Hardesty told Johnson that McGill had just called and asked “if it smelled like burning flesh.” Referring to Johnson, McGill asked Hardesty or Barnhart, “Is he going to talk?” Johnson testified that someone, either McGill, Hardesty, or Barnhart, threatened him with harm if he reported anything about the murder.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-supreme-court/1429298.html

Frank McCray Arizona Death Row

Frank McCray was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for the sexual assault and murder of a woman. According to court documents Frank McCray broke into the home of the victim who would be sexually assaulted and strangled to death. Frank McCray would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Arizona Death Row Inmate List

Frank McCray 2021 Information

ASPC Eyman, Browning Unit
PO Box 3400
FRANK D. MCCRAY 042891
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

Frank McCray More News

On May 21, 1987, the victim, Chestene Cummins, was at home preparing to leave on a trip to California with her boyfriend. She had taken the day off work to run errands and pack. Frank McCray somehow gained access to her apartment, most likely while in the neighborhood committing burglaries. When the victim’s boyfriend arrived home from work, he found her body laying in the bedroom. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled to death. The physical evidence demonstrated that the victim had put up a significant struggle during the assault. Law enforcement officers were unable to solve the crime at the time, but they preserved in evidence a sexual assault swab test kit and the cord used to strangle the victim.

In 2000, a Phoenix Police Department cold case detective submitted the evidence for DNA analysis at the Arizona Department of Public Safety Crime Lab. The DPS lab technicians were able to identify McCray from semen through a CODIS hit. McCray’s DNA profile had been entered into the CODIS database from a previous conviction for sexual assault on another young woman subsequent to the murder. McCray’s DNA was also confirmed on the cord used to strangle the victim.

Frank McCray Other News

On May 21, 1987, Chestene Cummins was strangled to death in her Phoenix apartment. Her boyfriend found her body on the floor with her mouth gagged, her body heavily bruised, her pants removed, and her shirt sliced open. She had been strangled with a sweatpants drawstring that was wrapped three times around her neck. The apartment was in disarray and there were signs of a struggle. Cummins’s wallet and rings were missing. The only fingerprints identified at the scene belonged to Cummins, her boyfriend, and her sister.

¶ 3 During an autopsy the next day, Cummins’s vagina, rectum, and mouth were swabbed for fluid. The medical examiner’s office tested fluid from each swab for acid phosphatase, an enzyme found in semen, and all the tests were negative. Fluid from each swab was also placed on separate filter papers that were sent to the Department of Public Safety crime lab. Unlike the medical examiner, a DPS analyst found acid phosphatase in the fluid from the vaginal and oral swabs. DPS froze and retained portions of the samples. DPS also identified acid phosphatase on other objects from the apartment. In 1987, DNA technology could not identify a perpetrator from the evidence, and the crime remained unsolved for more than a decade.

¶ 4 In 1997, the blood of Frank McCray, who had been imprisoned for a 1992 sexual assault, was drawn and stored pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-4438 (Supp.1997) (since renumbered as A.R.S. § 13-610 (Supp.2007)), which required DNA samples to be collected and retained for sex offenders. In 2000, DPS entered a DNA profile of McCray’s blood into its database.

¶ 5 A few months later, a Phoenix detective asked DPS to run a DNA test on the samples taken in 1987 from Cummins’s body. A DPS criminalist identified DNA from semen in both the vaginal and oral samples and entered the DNA profile into the DPS database. The DNA matched that of Frank McCray. To verify the match, the criminalist prepared a new profile from McCray’s blood. She found that it also matched the profile from the DNA in the semen on the samples taken from Cummins’s body.

¶ 6 McCray was indicted in 2001 for murder, sexual assault, and burglary. The sexual assault and burglary charges were dismissed because the statutes of limitations had run. In 2005, a jury convicted McCray of first-degree felony murder. In the penalty phase of the trial, the jury found two aggravating factors: McCray had been previously convicted of a felony involving violence, see A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(2) (1978 & Supp.1987), and the murder was especially cruel, id. § 13-703(F)(6). After the jury determined McCray should receive a death sentence, the trial court entered a sentence of death by lethal injection. This appeal followed.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-supreme-court/1163014.html

Edward McCauley Arizona Death Row

Edward McCauley was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for the murder of his estranged wife. According to court documents Edward McCauley waited outside of the home of his estranged wife and waited for her to leave for work. When the woman saw McCauley she would run for her car however Edward would jump into the vehicle and hit her in the head with the gun. Edward McCauley would get out of the car and shoot his gun empty killing the woman. Edward McCauley would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Arizona Death Row Inmate List

Edward McCauley 2021 Information

ASPC Eyman, Browning Unit
PO Box 3400
EDWARD MCCAULEY 341170
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

Edward McCauley More News

A Glendale man has been sentenced to death in the 2014 murder of his estranged wife. Edward McCauley, 63, was convicted in November 2019 of first-degree murder in the death of Dawn McCauley.

“This murder was a heinous and callous act,” said Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel said Thursday. “In the state of Arizona, a sentence of death is reserved for the worst of the worst. The calculated actions taken by this defendant to murder his estranged wife justify this outcome.”

On Nov. 24, 2014, McCauley waited outside his estranged wife’s home for her to leave for her night shift at work. “As she walked to her car, the defendant approached her with a handgun and began yelling threats. She jumped into the car, but he managed to get inside and hit her in the head with his weapon. He exited the truck and as he stood outside the passenger side door, he emptied the gun into the victim, firing 8 rounds, killing her,” according to a statement from the County Attorney’s office.

McCauley took off from the scene in a rental car. The next day, McCauley was located at a west Valley restaurant and arrested. At that time, he made statements about where police could find the gun in his rental car. Later at the police station, McCauley confessed to the murder.

The County Attorney’s Office says immediately after the killing, McCauley sent profanity-laced text messages to three of the victim’s family members telling them that he killed her. Police were able to recover the phones and save these texts. McCauley later told police that he had written these texts some time prior to the killing and “it was just a matter of pushing send” once the murder occurred.

McCauley admitted that he had contemplated killing his wife since at least 2012, which is the time he began to write down these feelings in his diary, the County Attorney’s Office says.

He had a calendar with a handwritten note of “Judgement Day” circled in red on the date of November 23, 2014. Journal entries leading up to that date indicated how many days remained until he would kill her.

https://www.azfamily.com/news/glendale-man-sentenced-to-death-in-2014-killing-of-estranged-wife/article_2f1a94f0-3335-11ea-a80e-7f61dcc43669.html

Cody Martinez Arizona Death Row

Cody Martinez was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for a kidnapping and murder. According to court documents Cody Martinez was met at his door by Jonathan Summey-Montano and the victim. Cody and Jonathan decided to rob the victim who was brought into the kitchen was beaten for several minutes and struck several times in the head with a shotgun before being bound. The victim was forced into a car and driven to his apartment where his home was ransacked. The car they were driving broke down so they called a friend for a ride. The victim was forced into the new vehicle and driven to a remote location where he was shot by Cody Martinez. Jonathan Summey-Montano would plead guilty and agreed to testify against Cody Martinez in exchange for a life sentence. Cody would be found guilty at trial and sentenced to death.

Arizona Death Row Inmate List

Cody Martinez 2021 Information

ASPC Florence, Central Unit
PO Box 8200
CODY J. MARTINEZ 151281
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

Cody Martinez More News

On June 12, 2003, Cody Martinez was at a friend’s house when another friend, Jonathan Summey-Montano, arrived with the victim. Once inside, Martinez and Summey-Montano decided to rob the victim. After joking with the victim, Martinez punched him in the face, then kicked and punched him for several minutes. Martinez and Summey-Montano eventually took the victim to the kitchen, where he was forced to lay on his stomach while they and another friend kicked him repeatedly. Eventually, Martinez directed two other friends to pull a car around the back of the house. While the car was being moved, Martinez returned to the kitchen with a shotgun, then bludgeoned the victim’s head with the weapon. Martinez and Summey-Montano then bound the victim’s hands with wire and his feet with duct tape. After the victim was bound, they removed his shoes and socks and robbed him of his money and jewelry. They placed him into the trunk of the car, and proceeded to the victim’s apartment. At the victim’s home, Martinez and Summey-Montano stole computer equipment, liquor, jewelry, drugs and music CD’s. They returned to the vehicle, which then would not start. They pushed the car to a nearby gas station, attempted to fix it, and eventually called a friend for a ride. Once the friend arrived, they got both cars to a residential street, loaded the victim into the cargo space of the new vehicle and drove to a remote area near the Tucson airport. At the desert area, Summey-Montano dragged the victim out of the vehicle. They instructed him to stand up, then beat him to the ground and continued punching and kicking for several minutes. After beating him, Martinez shot him twice with a shotgun. Martinez covered the victim with trash and lit the body on fire. A police officer noticed the smoke and subsequently pulled over the vehicle leaving the scene. Martinez and the others were arrested shortly thereafter.

Cody Martinez Other News

On June 12, 2003, twenty-one-year-old Cody James Martinez, fifteen-year-old Michael Lopez, and several other adolescents were at a friend’s Tucson home smoking marijuana. Johnathon Summey-Montaño arrived with Francisco Aguilar. Aguilar was sent out with two others to purchase rolling papers for the group.

¶ 2 Summey-Montaño described Aguilar to Martinez as a “baller” (meaning he had money) and suggested that they rob him. Martinez agreed. When Aguilar returned to the house, Martinez first engaged him in a conversation and then punched him in the face. Martinez and Summey-Montaño began beating Aguilar, while other members of the group went outside. Martinez and Summey-Montaño called Aguilar a child molester.² Martinez directed Lopez to join in kicking Aguilar, threatening to kill Lopez if he did not do so. Summey-Montaño pointed a shotgun at Aguilar. Martinez took the shotgun and hit Aguilar in the head with it. Martinez and Summey-Montaño then bound Aguilar’s hands and feet. Aguilar was crying and begging for an explanation for the beating. Martinez and Summey-Montaño took valuables from Aguilar: Summey-Montaño put on Aguilar’s necklace and took two dollars from one of Aguilar’s shoes; Martinez put Aguilar’s gold bracelet in his own pocket.

¶ 3 Lopez and Summey-Montaño then forced Aguilar into the trunk of a car. Martinez, Lopez, Summey-Montaño, and at least one other person got into the car. Martinez drove and Summey-Montaño gave directions to Aguilar’s home. When they arrived, Martinez instructed one of the others to watch for Aguilar’s family. Martinez and Summey-Montaño entered the house and returned with beer and liquor. Apparently dissatisfied with the haul, Martinez demanded that Aguilar tell him “where’s the stuff; where’s the shit?”-a reference to “drugs, money, or whatever.” Martinez returned to the house and came back with a computer printer.³

¶ 4 When they tried to leave, Martinez could not start the car. The group pushed the car, with Aguilar still in the trunk, to a nearby gas station. They put gas in the car but it still did not start. The group pushed it to a nearby pay telephone and sat there. Aguilar remained in the trunk.

¶ 5 Later, an acquaintance arrived at the gas station. Martinez spoke to this person and showed him a bag of methamphetamine. The acquaintance used Aguilar’s mobile telephone to call Fernando Bedoy, who arrived in a Ford Explorer. Using the Explorer, Martinez and the others pushed their vehicle to a side street. The car still would not start.

¶ 6 Summey-Montaño and Martinez then led Aguilar from the trunk of the car to the cargo space of the Explorer, keeping him covered with a blanket. Martinez poked Aguilar with a shotgun when Aguilar did not crawl into the Explorer fast enough.

¶ 7 Cody Martinez, Bedoy, Lopez, and Summey-Montaño got into the Explorer, leaving the rest of the group behind. Bedoy drove. After some discussion between Summey-Montaño and Martinez, Martinez directed Bedoy to the desert. Martinez announced he intended to kill Aguilar and anyone who tried to stop him.

¶ 8 As Bedoy drove, Cody Martinez and the others were laughing and taunting Aguilar. Summey-Montaño stabbed Aguilar in the hand with a knife and hit him with a compact disc he claimed to have stolen from Aguilar. He also mocked Aguilar, asking him to name his favorite track on the disc.

¶ 9 When the group arrived at the desert area, Summey-Montaño pulled Aguilar out of the Explorer. Cody Martinez and Summey-Montaño kicked Aguilar. Aguilar was dragged around the truck, making “noises of pain ․ moaning and groaning.” Martinez, Summey-Montaño, and Lopez continued kicking and stomping on Aguilar, while Aguilar begged for his life. Martinez demanded he shut up and ordered Aguilar to march into the desert at gunpoint and then to lie down.

¶ 10 Cody Martinez fired a shot at Aguilar that went “[r]ight above his head,” although Martinez stood directly above the victim. Martinez laughed about having missed. As Martinez reloaded the shotgun, Summey-Montaño beat Aguilar with a tire iron and stabbed him in the belly. Martinez fired again, this time hitting Aguilar in the collarbone area, “[a] little lower than the neck,” but not killing him. Summey-Montaño refused Martinez’s request that he finish off Aguilar, so Martinez fired one more time, hitting Aguilar in the neck, killing him.

¶ 11 Cody Martinez and Summey-Montaño ordered Lopez and Bedoy to wipe out the footprints they had left. Trash was piled on Aguilar’s body and Martinez lit the pile on fire. The group returned to the Explorer and drove away.

¶ 12 Moments later, a Tucson Airport Authority police officer on patrol noticed smoke in the distance and the Explorer driving from that direction and initiated a traffic stop. As the police cruiser and the Explorer crossed paths, Cody Martinez hid cocaine and methamphetamine in the vehicle in which he was travelling. He told the group to tell police they were coming from a barbeque at “Cisco’s.” He told the officer who stopped the Explorer the same. Police detained the group. Tucson firefighters, meanwhile, responded to the blaze and reported that a body had been found. After the body was discovered, Martinez was taken into custody and, incident to that arrest, was searched. Jewelry and marijuana were found in Martinez’s possession. Liquor, drugs, and the shotgun were also found in the Explorer.

B https://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-supreme-court/1461723.html

Gilbert Martinez Arizona Death Row

Gilbert Martinez was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for a murder during a robbery. According to court documents Gilbert Martinez and Robert Arbolida forced their way into a home. During the encounter the victim, Vern Jark, was shot and killed. Gilbert Martinez and Robert Arbolida would be arrested. Robert Arbolida would plead guilty and be sentenced to life. Gilbert Martinez would be convicted and sentenced to death.

Arizona Death Row Inmate List

Gilbert Martinez 2021 Information

ASPC Florence, Central Unit
PO Box 8200
GILBERT MARTINEZ 179269
Florence, AZ 85132
United States

Gilbert Martinez More News

On March 31, 2006, Gilbert Martinez and Robert Arbolida broke into the residence of Betty and Laurel Liedtke. At the time of the burglary, the Liedtke’s had visitors staying at their house, Betty’s two daughters, Colleen Jark and Karen Bell. Additionally, both of Betty’s daughters’ spouses, Vern Jark and Forrest Bell, came along for the visit. When Martinez and Arbolida gained entrance into the residence, they made their way to Laurel and Betty’s room and subsequently encountered the elderly couple. Laurel tried to get them to leave by pushing them and telling them to get out. A struggle between Laurel and Martinez ensued and Martinez pushed Laurel down and hit him in the head with a gun.

The intruders then forced the Liedtke’s into the room where Karen and her spouse Forrest were staying. Martinez continued to struggle and fight with Laurel and also hit Forrest near his eye with the gun. As Arbolida held everyone in the room captive, Martinez went to find any others in the house. Colleen and Vern, who were in the other guest room, had awakened to the loud sounds of the scuffling. As it was imminently clear that Vern and Colleen would likely be attacked next, Vern told Colleen to hide in the closet and attempt to call for help. Vern went out to the hallway where he encountered Martinez. They fought, and Martinez fatally shot him.

The intruders were both arrested days later. Martinez was sentenced to death for the murder. Arbolida testified against Martinez and received a life sentence. Prior to the capital trial, Martinez was also tried and convicted of several other burglaries which resulted in a 99 year sentence.

Gilbert Martinez Other News

On March 31, 2006, Betty L.’s daughters, Karen B. and Colleen J., and their husbands, Forest B. and Vern J., were visiting Betty and her husband, Laurel L., at their home in Sun City.¹ Martinez and Robert Arbolida watched the home, planning to burglarize it. They left to get a gun, returning to the house after its six occupants had gone to bed.

¶ 3 Martinez broke a patio door at the back of the house, went inside, and let Arbolida in through the kitchen door. Hearing a loud noise, Betty and Laurel went to investigate. In the hallway, they encountered the two intruders, who were wearing masks and gloves. Martinez and Arbolida pushed Betty and Laurel into the room where Karen and Forest were staying. Martinez threatened them, yelling profanities and telling them to cooperate or he would kill them. When Laurel moved too slowly because of his age and asthma, Martinez became frustrated and pushed him. When Forest attempted to help Laurel, Martinez pistol-whipped Forest, permanently injuring his eye. Martinez then directed Arbolida to bind the four victims with zip ties. Apparently having seen a third woman earlier when casing the house, Martinez said to Arbolida, “Let’s go find the other bitch.”

¶ 4 Colleen and Vern heard the commotion and Martinez’s statement from their bedroom. Vern pushed Colleen into the closet and closed the door. Vern, weaponless, went to the bedroom door to stand between his wife and the intruders.

¶ 5 Martinez met Vern in the hallway, a scuffle ensued, and Martinez fatally shot Vern. Martinez and Arbolida then fled with various items belonging to the victims. They went to Martinez’s sister’s house, where they cleaned blood off themselves and divided the stolen property.

¶ 6 Martinez was later arrested and indicted on twenty-three counts, including felony murder, stemming from this burglary and six other burglaries and robberies in the same area. The State sought the death penalty, alleging two aggravating circumstances: Martinez previously had been convicted of a serious offense, A.R.S. § 13–751(F)(2), and had committed the murder for pecuniary gain, § 13–751(F)(5).

¶ 7 The trial court severed the charges by occurrence and, after the State dismissed charges related to one of the burglaries, ordered six separate trials. Martinez was acquitted on one burglary (“the Krusenstjerna burglary”), but found guilty on all other charges.

¶ 8 The jury in this case found Martinez guilty of eleven charges, including felony murder, relating to the burglary of Betty and Laurel’s home. The jury then found both alleged aggravating circumstances proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It also found that Martinez actually killed Vern and was a major participant in his murder. The jury, however, hung in the penalty phase, and the trial court declared a mistrial.

¶ 9 Following a second penalty-phase trial, a new jury determined Martinez should be sentenced to death. The court also sentenced him to 124 years’ imprisonment on the non-capital charges.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-supreme-court/1609580.html