Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Zachary Blaise Salazar Sentenced to LWOP in 2021 TX Murders of James Crowley (3) and Riley Burgess (7)

  1. #1
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,316

    Zachary Blaise Salazar Sentenced to LWOP in 2021 TX Murders of James Crowley (3) and Riley Burgess (7)

    197930E5-5378-43F4-AEF3-4C738845D441.jpg
    Zachary Blaise Salazar

    Capital murder charge filed in vehicle crash that left 2 dead

    TEXARKANA, Texas —A charge of capital murder has been filed in Bowie County against a man accused of intentionally crashing head-on into a van, killing two young boys in DeKalb, Texas, earlier this month.

    Bail has been set at $5 million for Zachary Blaise Salazar by Bowie County Justice of the Peace Nancy Talley.

    Salazar, 21, allegedly threatened to wreck his pickup truck as he left his girlfriend's apartment after a verbal argument the night of Jan. 13, according to a probable cause affidavit.

    Moments later the girlfriend and her family heard police sirens and traveled to the scene of the crash that took the lives of 3-year-old James Crowley and 7-year-old Riley Burgess at approximately 10:30 p.m.

    Witnesses, including a man who was pulling into a nearby fast food restaurant, the driver of the van and other occupants of the van, said Salazar was driving eastbound on U.S. Highway 82 at a high rate of speed with his car's bright lights on.

    The driver of the van told officers that when he observed Salazar's pickup truck coming into his westbound lane he attempted to avoid a collision by pulling to the edge of the roadway but "Salazar continued tracking his vehicle until causing the collision," the affidavit states.

    At the crime scene, Salazar's girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child, reportedly told investigators that she and Salazar had been arguing via Facebook messenger about their relationship and living arrangements. The girlfriend reported that she and Salazar had only been dating a couple of months when she became pregnant, the affidavit states.

    The girlfriend said she blocked Salazar from her Facebook account after he sent her messages threatening to kill himself or someone else. Salazar allegedly showed up uninvited at the girlfriend's apartment about 45 minutes later. When asked to leave by the girlfriend's family, Salazar allegedly said, "F—- it, I'll go wreck," according to the affidavit.

    Under Texas law a person may be charged with capital murder if they intentionally kill two or more people during the same criminal episode or in the killing of a person under 10 years of age.

    If found guilty of capital murder, Salazar faces life without the possibility of parole or death by lethal injection. He is currently being held in the Bowie County jail.

    The case is assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell, who appointed Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson to lead the defense on Friday.

    https://www.texarkanagazette.com/new...2-dead/858271/
    Last edited by Bobsicles; 02-02-2021 at 10:04 PM.
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Death penalty off the table in capital case

    A man accused of killing two young boys when he intentionally crashed into the van they were riding in earlier this year will not face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder

    By Lynn LaRowe
    Tekarkana Gazette

    TEXARKANA, Texas —A man accused of killing two young boys when he intentionally crashed into the van they were riding in earlier this year will not face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder.

    Zachary Blaise Salazar, 21, appeared with Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson for arraignment on two charges of capital murder and four counts of aggravated assault before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Harrelson entered pleas of not guilty to all charges on Salazar's behalf.

    First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told the court her office is not seeking the death penalty for Salazar.

    Crisp said Salazar's history of mental illness is the basis for the state's decision to take the death penalty off the table. If convicted of capital murder in the deaths of 3-year-old James Crowley and 7-year-old Riley Burgess, Salazar will receive an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

    The assault charges stemming from injuries sustained by other occupants of the van are punishable by two to 20 years in prison.

    Salazar is being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $5 million. He's been in custody since his arrest following the crash the night of Jan. 13.

    Salazar was allegedly upset with his girlfriend, spoke of crashing his truck and made good on the threat within minutes of leaving the woman's DeKalb, Texas, residence the night of Jan. 13, according to a probable cause affidavit.

    Moments after being asked to leave his pregnant girlfriend's home, she and her family heard police sirens and traveled to the scene of the deadly crash at about 10:30 p.m.

    Witnesses, including a man who was pulling into a nearby fast food restaurant, the driver of the van and other occupants of the van, said Salazar was driving eastbound on U.S. Highway 82 at a high rate of speed with his truck's bright lights on.

    The driver of the van told officers that when he observed Salazar's pickup coming into his westbound lane he attempted to avoid a collision by pulling to the edge of the roadway but "Salazar continued tracking his vehicle until causing the collision," the affidavit states.

    At the crime scene, Salazar's girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child, reportedly told investigators that she and Salazar had been arguing via Facebook Messenger about their relationship and living arrangements. The girlfriend reported that she and Salazar had only been dating a couple of months when she became pregnant, the affidavit states.

    The girlfriend said she blocked Salazar from her Facebook account after he sent her messages threatening to kill himself or someone else. Salazar allegedly showed up uninvited at the girlfriend's apartment about 45 minutes later. When asked to leave by the girlfriend's family, Salazar allegedly said, "F—- it, I'll go wreck," according to the affidavit.

    Under Texas law a person may be charged with capital murder if they intentionally kill two or more people during the same criminal episode or in the killing of a person under 10 years of age.

    Tidwell scheduled Salazar for a pretrial hearing July 1.

    https://www.texarkanagazette.com/new...l-case/874176/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #3
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,316
    Man pleads not guilty to capital murder in deaths of two young boys killed in crash

    A man accused of killing two boys, ages 3 and 7, by intentionally crashing his truck into the van they were riding in on Jan. 13 in DeKalb, Texas, entered pleas of not guilty Monday to two counts of capital murder and four counts of aggravated assault.

    Zachary Blaise Salazar, 21, was arraigned on the charges at a hearing before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Texarkana defense attorney Jeff Harrelson is representing Salazar.

    First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp announced that the state will not seek a death sentence for Salazar because of his history of mental illness. If found guilty of capital murder in the death of either of the boys Salazar will face life without parole.

    Salazar faces 2 to 20 years on each of the aggravated assault charges.

    Salazar was allegedly upset over a disagreement with his pregnant girlfriend and had threatened to wreck his pickup truck on purpose moments before he smashed into a van on U.S. Highway 82 in DeKalb on the night of Jan. 13. Two young boys, Riley Burgess, 7, and James Crowley, 3, were killed in the crash.

    According to a probable cause affidavit, Salazar had been arguing with his girlfriend via Facebook Messenger and had threatened he would kill himself or someone else. After the girlfriend blocked Salazar from her account, he allegedly showed up at her residence 45 minutes later.

    When made to leave by a member of the girlfriend’s family, Salazar allegedly said, “Fuck it, I’ll go wreck.”

    The girlfriend and her family heard sirens a short time later and traveled to the crash scene where they informed members of law enforcement about Salazar’s alleged threats.

    Witnesses reported that Salazar was traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed with his vehicle’s bright lights activated. The driver of the van that was hit said he saw the pickup driving into his lane with bright on and at a high rate of speed. He reportedly tried to pull to the side of the road to avoid a collision.

    Salazar is being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $5 million. Tidwell set the case for a pretrial hearing July 1.

    https://txktoday.com/crime/man-plead...lled-in-crash/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  4. #4
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,316
    Man convicted of capital murder in death of two boys killed in crash, sentenced to life without parole

    By Field Walsh

    NEW BOSTON, Texas: A man who intentionally crashed his truck into a minivan carrying three adults and four children was found guilty of capital murder Friday by a Bowie County jury and sentenced to life without parole.

    Zachary Blaise Salazar, 22, was upset because his girlfriend had just broken up with him. As he was leaving her house on Knapp Street in DeKalb, Texas, Salazar said, “Fuck it. I’ll go wreck,” to her and her mother.

    Moments later, the former girlfriend and her mother drove to the sound of sirens around the corner from their house on Highway 82. Salazar had crashed into a minivan occupied by seven people, including 3-year-old James Crowley and 7-year-old Riley Burgess. The minivan was a twisted wreck and the red Ford Ranger truck Salazar was driving caught on fire after the crash.

    Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards told the jury that Salazar becomes aggressive and angry when things don’t go his way. She pointed to Salazar’s threat immediately before the crash and to a Facebook post from earlier in the day where he threatened to “kill himself or someone else.”

    In an Instagram message from Salazar sent in October 2020, Salazar stated that he has “almost intentionally wrecked multiple times.” The post said he travels at speeds over 80 and thinks about crossing into the oncoming traffic.

    Salazar’s defense attorney, Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana, argued that Salazar might have suffered a medical issue like a seizure or had mechanical problems that led to the fatal crash.

    First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp argued that Salazar is no different from someone who shoots children in a shopping mall, shoots themself and survives.

    “If you have the intent to kill yourself and run into a minivan, kill kids and survive, you’re guilty of capital murder,” Crisp argued.

    The jury deliberated less than an hour before finding Salazar guilty of two counts of capital murder in the deaths of the young boys. The state did not seek the death penalty, 202nd District Judge John Tidwell sentenced Salazar to life without parole possible.

    Crisp said the jury sent a message about harming children.

    “A clearer message could hardly be sent–in Bowie County we will not tolerate violence against children. The Bowie County District Attorney’s Office thanks the witnesses who assisted law enforcement in the Salazar investigation and the professional men and women of the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety who work to keep our community safe,” Crisp said.

    https://txktoday.com/crime/man-convi...ithout-parole/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •