Felix Rocha Texas Death Row

Felix Rocha texas

Felix Rocha was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for a murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents Felix Rocha and Virgilio Maldonado went to the victims home and in the middle of robbing him he was shot and killed. Both Felix Rocha and Virgilio Maldonado were arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Virgilio Maldonado was later resentenced to life

Felix Rocha 2022 Information

SID Number:    05189992

TDCJ Number:    00999291

Name:    ROCHA,FELIX

Race:    H

Gender:    M

Age:    45

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW       

Current Facility:    POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Felix Rocha More News

The evidence shows the following:  On November 26, 1994, Rafael Fuentes, the decedent, was working as a security guard at La Camelia, a nightclub in Harris County.   Reynaldo Munoz, who owned some pool tables at the nightclub, arrived at around 7:00 p.m. Munoz talked to Fuentes for ten to fifteen minutes while Fuentes stood at the door to the club.   Munoz noticed that Fuentes was wearing a holster containing a gun.   Two men, a tall man and a short man, moved quickly toward Fuentes.   Munoz moved out of the way as Fuentes stopped the men to conduct a search.   Munoz saw the tall man raise his arms as if to permit a frisk.   Then Munoz watched the short man pull out a gun, point the gun at Fuentes, demand Fuentes’ gun,3 and reach for Fuentes’ gun.   At that point, Munoz began to flee the scene and did not see what happened next.   As he fled, Munoz heard two or three gunshots.

A police radio dispatch informed patrol officer Michael Junco of a shooting in progress.   Junco arrived at the scene to find Fuentes’ body with gunshot wounds.   Junco noticed that there was no gun in Fuentes’ holster.

The tall man was later identified as Virgilio Maldonado.   The short man was believed by law enforcement officials to be Felix Rocha   Houston Police Officer X.E. Avila interviewed appellant.   In his oral statements, appellant gave the following version of events:  Appellant and Fuentes had been involved in an altercation at some time prior to the murder.   Fuentes had beaten and otherwise embarrassed appellant, and appellant had vowed to get revenge.   On the night of the killing, appellant and Maldonado confronted Fuentes.   Felix Rocha intended to take Fuentes’ gun to embarrass him and show that Fuentes was not a good security guard.   Felix Rocha pulled his own gun on Fuentes, and Fuentes grabbed appellant’s gun.   Then appellant and Fuentes struggled over appellant’s gun, and appellant’s gun was shot once during the struggle.   Felix Rocha did not know whether the shot hit Fuentes or simply went into the air.   Maldonado shot Fuentes several times to protect appellant.   Maldonado then took Fuentes’ gun, and appellant and Maldonado fled the scene.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-criminal-appeals/1172496.html

Mark Robertson Texas Death Row

mark robertson texas

Mark Robertson was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for a double murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents Mark Robertson would shoot and kill his friend before going into the friends Grandmothers home who would also be fatally shot and he would then rob the home. Mark Robertson was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Mark Robertson 2022 Information

SID Number:    03807763

TDCJ Number:    00000992

Name:    ROBERTSON,MARK

Race:    W

Gender:    M

Age:    53

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW       

Current Facility:    POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible:    YES

Mark Robertson More News

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday stayed the execution of a white Dallas death row prisoner who argued that his trial attorney relied on “racist ideology” to keep black jurors off the panel during his 1991 capital murder trial.

Mark Robertson – who was scheduled for execution Thursday – was originally sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of a friend and his 81-year-old grandmother. But earlier this month, defense lawyers asked the court to reconsider an earlier decision, and once again look at whether then-attorney Michael Byck “engaged in purposeful discrimination”  based on the belief that black jurors would be less sympathetic to a white defendant.

The late Dallas attorney “brazenly recounted” his strategy and ideology during a 1997 appeals hearing where he said he’d be “more than happy to violate anybody else’s rights” in an effort to defend his client. Ultimately, it was an all-white jury that sentenced Robertson to death, after Byck and prosecutors handling the case agreed to “indulge each other” in their “prejudices,” according to court records.

The three-page ruling on Monday doesn’t offer any insight as to the court’s reason for granting a stay, merely outlining history of the case and noting that the court “has determined that applicant’s execution should be stayed pending further order from this Court.” Robertson’s current attorneys did not immediately offer comment on the decision.

The case started in August of 1989, after Robertson went to his friend’s house to do some crank and smoke some weed. Later that night, the then-21-year-old and his friend, Sean Hill, went fishing in the creek out back.

They caught seven catfish before Robertson shot his friend in the head.

“After I shot him, Sean fell in the water,” Robertson wrote later in a confession. “I then ran in the house through Sean’s bedroom and into the bathroom where I splashed some water over my face. I then walked into the den where (Edna Brau), Sean’s grandmother, was watching TV and I shot her once.”

After the slayings, Robertson swiped his friend’s drugs and the elderly woman’s purse before stealing her car and eventually fleeing to Las Vegas.

When police caught him, he offered a detailed and gory written confession.

During trial two years later, the jury also heard about how he murdered 19-year-old 7-Eleven clerk Jeffrey Saunders a week before the double killing at Brau’s house. That slaying – and Hill’s – netted him two life sentences, while Brau’s killing put him on death row.

In 2003, his then-attorney won him a last-minute stay based on claims of false testimony as to his future dangerousness behind bars. He later won the chance at a new punishment, based on bad jury instructions – but the retrial still ended in a death sentence. Last year, a Dallas County judge again signed off on an execution date.

Now, with Robertson’s death date off the calendar, there are four more prisoners scheduled for death this year in Texas.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Appeals-court-stays-execution-over-claims-of-13750654.php

Warren Rivers Texas Death Row

warren rivers texas

Warren Rivers was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of an eleven year old child. According to court documents Warren Rivers would lead the eleven year old boy into an abandoned house where he was sexually assaulted and murdered. Warren Rivers was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Warren Rivers 2022 Information

SID Number:    03866580

TDCJ Number:    00000928

Name:    RIVERS,WARREN DARRELL

Race:    B

Gender:    M

Age:    54

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW       

Current Facility:    COUNTY BENCH WARRANT

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible:   

Warren Rivers More News

More than 27 years after the heinous rape and murder of an 11-year-old boy, the man convicted and sentenced to die for the crime gets another shot at life.

Warren Rivers has been on death row ever since his conviction in 1988 for the murder of Carl Nance, Jr. Evidence showed the boy was lured into an abandoned house south of downtown on May 3, 1987, beaten, sexually mutilated and stabbed. Nance’s body was found in the house the next day.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2010 that jurors weren’t given proper instructions on how or whether to consider mitigating circumstances such as mental impairment or a difficult childhood before deliberating the sentence previously given to Rivers.

“I had to forgive him but he had to pay for what he done, because he tortured and brutalized my baby, for no reason,” says Claudette Nance, the victim’s mother.

She says she will be in the courtroom every day throughout this punishment phase of trial again, not as a tribute to her son, but in an effort to ensure Rivers is again sentenced to death. She says that’s the only way to ensure he doesn’t hurt any other children.

River’s defense team is calling witnesses who are speaking about his mental capacity and his poor and troubled upbringing. They are hoping this will help convince jurors to spare his life.

https://abc13.com/warren-rivers-carl-nance-jr-child-killed/390577/

Jose Rivera Texas Death Row

jose rivera texas death row

Jose Rivera was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of a three year old. According to court documents Jose Rivera would lead the three year old boy away who would be sexually assaulted and murdered. Jose Rivera would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Jose Rivera 2022 Information

SID Number:    03027883

TDCJ Number:    00999102

Name:    RIVERA,JOSE ALFREDO

Race:    H

Gender:    M

Age:    59

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW       

Current Facility:    POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible:    YES

Jose Rivera More News

The victim, a three-year-old child, was last seen alive on July 9, 1993, with Veronica Zavala.   The next day, the child’s naked body was found floating in a reservoir.   Dr. Marguerite DeWitt, a pathologist, testified that the child had been in the water for eighteen to thirty-six hours but did not drown.   Instead, the cause of death was ligature strangulation.   DeWitt further testified to observing two tears in the child’s anus.   She concluded that these tears were due to an external penetration by something larger than the anal opening and were consistent with an adult’s finger penetrating the anus.   That same day (July 10th), Zavala confessed to being involved in the murder and implicated appellant.

On July 11th appellant gave a videotaped oral confession, in which he admitted to strangling the child and to penetrating the child’s rectum with a finger.   In addition to the strangulation and the damage to the child’s anus, several other details of appellant’s confession were corroborated by independent evidence:

the child’s underwear had been cut off and tied around his neck with a single knot;  the time of death was consistent with the time stated by appellant;  the child had been wearing shorts and tennis shoes when he disappeared;  and the child’s body was found near a bridge.3

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-criminal-appeals/1338620.html

Britt Ripkowski Texas Death Row

Britt Ripkowski texas death row

Britt Ripkowski was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for a double murder. According to court documents Britt Ripkowski would murder the mother of a two year old girl who he would kidnap and then later murder days later. Britt Ripkowski would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Britt Ripkowski 2022 Information

SID Number:    06288663

TDCJ Number:    00999325

Name:    RIPKOWSKI,BRITT ALLEN

Race:    W

Gender:    M

Age:    50

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW       

Current Facility:    POLUNSKY

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible:    YES

Britt Ripkowski More News

Monica Allen and Britt Ripkowski dated for awhile but had a stormy relationship.   Allen had a two-year-old daughter, Dominique Frome, from a prior relationship.   Appellant had lived with Allen at various times in Salt Lake City, Utah and in Houston, Texas.   At the time of the events giving rise to this prosecution, they were living apart, with appellant in Houston and Allen in Salt Lake City. On December 22, 1997, a young woman’s body was found by the side of a roadway near Monticello, Utah. The body was not identified at that time.   On December 30th, a missing persons report was filed on Allen and her daughter.   The FBI and the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) began an investigation of the disappearances.   Detective Kelly Kent of the SLCPD was one of the officers assigned to investigate.   On January 15, 1998, the body found in Utah was identified as Allen’s.

The following day, Special Agent Gary Steger, with the Houston Division of the FBI, contacted appellant at his apartment in Houston. Steger and another FBI agent introduced themselves and told appellant that they were investigating the disappearance of Allen and her child.   They talked with appellant, received his permission to search the apartment, and conducted a search that revealed nothing of importance to the investigation.   Special Agent Steger did see a crack pipe in the apartment.   That same day, appellant called Detective Kent, with whom he had past dealings.   Britt Ripkowski told Kent that he, Allen, and Dominique had left Salt Lake City together but parted ways at St. George, Utah on December 21st.   Britt Ripkowski called Kent again on January 19th.   This time he told her that he had taken Dominique to Houston and that a friend had taken her to Mexico.

On January 20th, Britt Ripkowski called Kent and told her that he had been in contact with the FBI and he believed that they were following him.   That same day, the FBI searched appellant’s apartment pursuant to a federal search warrant.   Appellant told Special Agent Steger the revised story of taking Dominique to Houston and a friend taking her to Mexico.   Britt Ripkowski said that he had used Allen’s van to drive from Salt Lake City to Houston, and he told FBI agents where the van was located.   The van was seized by the FBI and Special Agent Steger returned appellant to his apartment.

On January 22nd, appellant was arrested by federal agents.   Special Agent Eric Johnson read appellant his Miranda warnings and transported him to the Houston FBI office.   Johnson testified that he did not threaten appellant or make any promises.   Johnson denied that appellant was disoriented during this time period.   During a pat-down search of appellant, Johnson discovered some phone cords and a necktie.   During transit, appellant told officers that he should have made them kill him.

Britt Ripkowski was turned over to Special Agent Steger at the Houston FBI office.   Steger noticed that appellant had some scratches on his face and an injury to his wrist.   The wrist injury consisted of a one-sixth of an inch deep slash across the wrist.   Appellant told Steger that he had tried to slit his wrists the night before.   Steger took appellant to a nurse for medical treatment.   Afterwards, appellant was placed in an interrogation room for questioning.   Also present in the interrogation room were Special Agent Steger, Detective Kent, and Charles Oliver, a homicide investigator for SLCPD.   Steger read the Miranda warnings.   Oliver testified that Steger read each warning individually, and after each one, Steger asked appellant if he understood his rights.   Appellant appeared to understand his rights and appeared to knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive the rights.   Oliver further testified that appellant did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.   When asked questions, appellant responded coherently and appropriately.   After warnings were read and rights waived, Detective Kent interviewed appellant.

Kent also testified that Britt Ripkowski appeared to understand the warnings.   Kent observed that appellant read the waiver of rights form aloud and that appellant appeared to voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waive his rights.   No promises, threats, or abuse of any kind occurred before or during the interrogation.   According to Kent, appellant did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he appeared to understand what was going on, and when asked questions, he responded appropriately.   This first interview by Kent was not electronically recorded.   During the interview appellant admitted to killing both Allen and Dominique.  Britt Ripkowski related that, on December 24 th, he killed Dominique, put her body in a suitcase, and buried the suitcase in an undeveloped area near the Sheldon Reservoir in northeast Harris County.

Appellant agreed to help locate Dominique’s body.   He went with law enforcement agents to the area he described and they attempted to find the victim’s body.   But the terrain was swampy and covered with underbrush, and appellant exhibited confusion about the body’s location.   Several law enforcement agents testified that they believed appellant was honestly trying to help locate the body but was unsuccessful.   Appellant informed officers that the body could be further up the same road about a half mile.

After this failed attempt to find the child’s body, Steger took appellant to the homicide division of the Houston Police Department.   Appellant was placed in an interview room with Detective Kent and Houston Police Officer Robert King. King testified that he read appellant the required warnings and appellant nodded his head after each individual warning was read.   Both King and Kent testified that appellant appeared to understand his rights and appeared to waive those rights voluntarily.   Kent then conducted a videotaped interrogation of appellant.   Kent and King both testified that appellant did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the interrogation and that appellant responded appropriately to questions.   During the interrogation appellant again described how he killed Allen and Dominique and again described how he disposed of Dominique’s body.   Appellant also stated that he had used cocaine extensively up to and just prior to arrest, that he had recently attempted suicide by trying to slit his wrists, and that he had tried to kill himself by taking an overdose of pills shortly before his arrest.   After the taping ended, appellant was shown a map, and he pointed out the area on the map where Dominique’s body was located.

On January 23rd, armed with this information, law enforcement agents found Dominique’s body.   That same day, appellant submitted physical samples for toxicological testing, which later revealed the presence of cocaine in appellant’s system.

At a hearing on appellant’s motion to suppress evidence, appellant presented expert testimony from Dr. Paula Lundberg Love that a combination of stressful conditions, bipolar mental disorder, and cocaine binging rendered appellant incompetent to understand and waive his rights.

After hearing the evidence, the trial court found that appellant had knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his rights.   The trial court held the complained-of statements to be admissible.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-criminal-appeals/1483441.html