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Thread: Steven Lawayne Nelson - Texas Death Row

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    Steven Lawayne Nelson - Texas Death Row


    Rev. Clint Dobson


    Steven Lawayne Nelson


    Felon arrested in death of Arlington pastor from Clear Lake

    ARLINGTON — Police say a man has been arrested and faces a capital murder charge in the slaying of a North Texas pastor at his church.

    Arlington police said Saturday that Steven Lawayne Nelson, 24, was arrested and faces a charge of capital murder, which carries the death penalty. Authorities did not immediately provide details about Nelson or his arrest in the death of the Rev. Clint Dobson, who grew up in Clear Lake and served at Arlington's NorthPointe Baptist Church since 2008.

    It was not immediately known if Nelson had retained a lawyer.

    Authorities say they have found the car stolen from NorthPointe after Thursday's attack but would not say where it was located. The vehicle was owned by a church employee who was severely beaten in the attack, which police previously said may have been a robbery gone wrong.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/7458817.html

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    My gut feeling is that this will be a Death Penalty trial due to the circumstances.

    Arlington police Saturday arrested a 24-year-old ex-con on suspicion of capital murder of the Rev. Clint Dobson, pastor of NorthPointe Baptist Church.
    Steven Lewayne Nelson was arrested at his mother's townhome, at 2403 Brown Boulevard, Saturday morning. He was being held in Arlington jail pending a capital murder charge, according to a statement from spokeswoman Tiara Richard.
    Police also recovered the car of Dobson's assistant, Judy Elliott, who was severely beaten at the church on Thursday, the day Dobson's body was found there. Investigators would not release where the 2007 Mitsubishi Galant was found or what information led officers to it.
    The Woodbridge townhome where Nelson was arrested is a few blocks of the church. Previously, Nelson had been living in Grand Prairie, records show.
    Elliott had been listed in stable condition at the hospital, but, at the family's request, no information was available about her on Saturday.
    A memorial service has been set for Dobson at 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church of Arlington. NorthPointe is a satellite campus of First Baptist.
    Nelson was released last April from the state prison in Huntsville after serving two years on an Arlington theft charge.
    About a month after his release, he was arrested by DeSoto police on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He pleaded guilty and received deferred adjudication on the charge, records show.
    Previously, he was convicted of theft charges brought by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Euless police and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. In 2005, Arlington police arrested him for unauthorized use a vehicle. He also was held by the Texas Youth Commission following a 2001 offense, records show.
    http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03...of-pastor.html

    RIP to Reverend Dobson and best wishes to Mrs. Elliot.

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    My gut feeling is that this will be a Death Penalty trial due to the circumstances.
    Tarrant County....I concur!

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    Two men face capital murder charges in Arlington pastor's suffocation

    ARLINGTON -- Two Arlington men now face charges of capital murder and criminal attempted capital murder in the suffocation death of a Baptist minister and the brutal beating of his assistant inside their north Arlington church last week.

    Anthony Gregory Springs, 19, had initially been identified as a "person of interest" in the attack and had been held in the Arlington Jail since Saturday morning on outstanding traffic warrants. Police have identified robbery as a motive.

    Springs had told police that he met Steven Lawayne Nelson, 24, at a gas station about 2 p.m. Thursday, a few hours after the attack, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released Monday.

    Police on Monday declined to say whether they believed Springs was with Nelson inside the church.

    At a news conference Monday, police said numerous tips from the public as well as the use of the victims' credit cards at The Parks at Arlington mall helped them break the case.

    Nelson was arrested Saturday afternoon at his mother's townhome less than a mile from NorthPointe Baptist Church, 2001 Brown Blvd.

    Also Monday, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled that Dobson was suffocated with a plastic bag.

    According to the affidavit, two friends of the men independently told investigators that on the night of the slaying, Nelson and Springs began laughing and making inappropriate comments about Dobson's death when viewing a television news story about the case.

    "When confronted about this behavior, (Springs) produced an item he claimed belonged to Dobson," the affidavit states.

    Police officials said during a news conference Monday that credit cards were among items stolen in the robbery.

    Investigators determined that the cards were used at several jewelry kiosks and a shoe store at The Parks either before or soon after Dobson and Elliott were discovered at the church, according to the affidavit.

    Surveillance video obtained by investigators from the shoe store showed both men using the stolen credit cards, the affidavit stated.

    Springs told investigators that he met Nelson at a gas station in east Arlington at 2 p.m. on the day of the slayings and that Nelson was driving Elliott's Mitsubishi Galant.

    He said that the two men then went shopping and that, afterward, Nelson gave him an item that he said belonged to "the pastor." He told investigators that, later that night, Nelson confessed that he had robbed the church and killed Dobson.

    Springs also gave police information about the whereabouts of Elliott's car, which police said was found at an apartment complex outside of Arlington.

    Deputy Chief Jaime Ayala said investigators have not yet been able to interview Elliott, who remained hospitalized Monday.

    Later Monday, the Rev. Dennis R. Wiles, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Arlington, released a statement about the case. NorthPointe is a satellite church of First Baptist.

    "We continue to appreciate the good work of the Arlington Police Department as they work to solve this brutal crime. We are focused on the celebration of Clint's life this week as we continue to pray for his family as well as Judy's. We have no other comment on the investigation."

    http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03...#ixzz1FxTlJwOD

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    Suspect in Arlington pastor's slaying had gotten plea deal

    Arrest warrant affidavit in Arlington pastor's death

    Steven Lawayne Nelson, accused of suffocating an Arlington minister, was sentenced to an in-prison anger management program last year after being charged with aggravated assault shortly after his release from state prison in Huntsville.

    The sentence was a plea bargain struck with Dallas County prosecutors, who say they negotiated it instead of going to trial because their case against Nelson fell apart.

    He was accused of choking and threatening his girlfriend with a knife in DeSoto. But after the woman declined to cooperate, Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Terri Moore said, her office was concerned that its case against Nelson would be dismissed.

    "We went from having a great case to no case. It was a terrible crime he committed, but the victim wouldn't cooperate and we couldn't prove it," Moore said. "It would be better to get him in and try to get some kind of treatment going for his anger than to just let him out with a dismissal and not address the issue at all."

    As a result, prosecutors agreed to a deal for eight years of deferred probation in lieu of pursuing jail time. But first -- based on the results of a risk analysis -- Nelson was to complete a three-month state-funded program at an intermediate-sanctions facility to help him address behavioral issues and "thinking errors" that could land him back in jail, an official said.

    Nelson completed that program Feb. 28.

    Three days later, police say, Nelson attacked the Rev. Clint Dobson and his assistant, Judy Elliott, at NorthPointe Baptist Church in north Arlington.

    Nelson, 24, faces charges of capital murder and attempted capital murder. Anthony Gregory Springs, 19, has also been charged. Police say the slaying took place during a robbery.

    Nelson is being held in the Arlington Jail, with bail set at $1 million. Springs, who is also charged with aggravated robbery, is being held on $1.15 million bail.

    Arlington does not allow media interviews with those in custody.

    Property crimes

    Nelson was allowed to make the plea deal despite having a criminal history dating to 2001 because his previous convictions were for property crimes, not violent crimes.

    He most recently served a two-year sentence in Huntsville on a theft charge.

    "You try to really, really evaluate the deal and make the best plea bargain offer you can make," Moore said. "If you have got a history of hurting people, there is a pretty good chance you might hurt somebody in the future. If you stole a lawn mower, I can hardly predict you are going to kill somebody."

    After Nelson's release from the intermediate-sanctions facility, he was to begin meeting with a probation officer in Tarrant County because he lived in Arlington, said Michael Noyes, director of the Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections Department.

    No meeting took place.

    "There was such as small window of time," Noyes said. "We just never had an opportunity to provide for supervision. He committed his offense days after being released from an intensive treatment program."

    'Through the cracks'


    Some people shocked by the church attack have questioned how Nelson seemed to catch breaks from the criminal justice system.

    "Unfortunately it's a question of people slipping through the cracks, especially if they are young," said William Hubbarth, an Austin attorney and vice president of Justice for All, a pro-death-penalty group.

    "People always seem to have this feeling that because of his youth there might be time to turn the kid around," he said. "He just slipped through the cracks, and then all of the sudden he took it to the highest level."

    Hubbarth called probation a perk and said he supports the state releasing "druggies and repeat DWI offenders and hot-check artists" to make jail space available for violent offenders.

    He also called the person who killed Dobson "the type of person the death penalty was written for."

    Tips from the suspects' friends as well as the use of Elliott's credit cards at The Parks at Arlington mall led police to Nelson and Springs last week. Nelson was arrested Saturday at his mother's town home -- less than a mile from NorthPointe -- after a brief standoff with Arlington police. Springs was arrested earlier that day on traffic warrants.

    Two friends of the suspects independently told investigators that on the night of the slaying, Nelson and Springs laughed and made inappropriate comments about Dobson's death during a television report on the case, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

    Elliott remained hospitalized Thursday. Her family has requested that information about her condition not be released.

    http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03...#ixzz1GHzgjJg3

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    Man arrested in Arlington pastor's slaying is not indicted

    A Tarrant County grand jury has declined to indict one of two men arrested in the investigation of the attack inside an Arlington church in March that left a pastor dead and his assistant badly injured.

    The other man, Steven Lawayne Nelson, was indicted on a charge of capital murder and attempted capital murder.

    On Thursday, grand jurors no-billed Anthony Gregory Springs, 19, of Arlington.

    Prosecutors had sought his indictment on the same charges in the death of the Rev. Clint Dobson and the attack on his assistant, Judy Elliott, at NorthPointe Baptist Church at 2001 Brown Blvd. Dobson, 28, was suffocated with a plastic bag, and Elliott was severely beaten.

    "The grand jury made the correct decision in choosing not to indict Anthony," said attorney Joetta Keene, who is representing Springs along with Bob Ford.

    "Anthony has the support of a large family and church. They are singing gospels and thanking God for answering their prayers right now. They set up a prayer vigil for the truth to come out and are, needless to say, happy tonight."

    Assistant District Attorney Bob Gill, who is prosecuting the case with Page Simpson, declined to comment on the grand jury's decision.

    Gill said no decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty for Nelson, 24, of Arlington.

    "It will be another month or so before that decision is made," Gill said.

    Affidavit sheds light

    Because grand jury deliberations are secret, no one outside the room could say for sure Thursday what the reasoning was behind the decision to indict Nelson but not Springs.

    However, a search warrant affidavit provided additional information.

    Police were notified March 5 that Springs had been arrested on traffic warrants and interviewed him in the Arlington Jail, the affidavit states.

    Springs told police that he met Nelson at a gas station March 3 in east Arlington. Nelson was driving Elliott's missing Mitsubishi Gallant. Springs got into the car, and both went to The Parks at Arlington mall, where they went shopping, the affidavit said.

    Later, Springs told a detective that Nelson gave him a personal item that belonged to "the pastor," the affidavit said.

    Springs said Nelson told him that he robbed a church in north Arlington using a black BB gun -- a gun that Springs had previously seen and believed could have passed for a real firearm, the affidavit said.

    Springs told police that Nelson had used the BB gun in robbery attempts, the affidavit said. Springs said Nelson also admitted suffocating Dobson, according to the affidavit.

    Springs told a detective where Elliott's car was, and officers recovered it, the affidavit said.

    During the investigation, two friends of Nelson and Springs independently told investigators that, on the night of the slaying, the men laughed and made inappropriate comments about Dobson's death as they watched a TV news report about the case.

    Nelson, whose criminal record dates back a decade and includes aggravated-assault and theft convictions, remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Thursday night, with bail set at $1 million.

    Although the grand jury didn't indict Springs in the church attack, it did indict him on an unrelated charge of aggravated robbery. Officials said that while Springs was being investigated in the Dobson slaying, police took his fingerprints, which linked him to the robbery of a man in November.

    The charge is a first-degree felony with a maximum sentence of life in prison. He remained in jail Thursday night, with bail set at $150,000.

    Family statement

    At a ceremony Thursday night involving Arlington clergy who work with police -- a group that Dobson belonged to -- his family asked police to distribute a statement to the news media in lieu of granting interviews. It was not known whether Dobson's relatives were aware of the grand jury's decision.

    "We continue to be impressed with everyone at the DA's office -- from the prosecutors and investigators to the victim's support liaison," the statement read. "They have all helped in guiding us through the difficult and confusing times following this senseless crime."

    http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05...#ixzz1NZE76wrj

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    Prosecutors seek death penalty for alleged killer of Arlington pastor, prompting mixed feelings in congregation

    ARLINGTON, TX — It is a difficult decision to reconcile for members of First Baptist Arlington, who are coping with the reality that Tarrant County prosecutors will seek the death penalty in a murder case close to their hearts.

    "I have conflict inside of me because I am a Christian minister," Senior Pastor, Dr. Dennis Wiles, said.

    Wiles just learned that prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Steven Nelson, if he is convicted of killing pastor Clint Dobson (29) inside NorthPointe Baptist church earlier this year. The popular pastor was suffocated with a plastic bag during what police say was a robbery. A church assistant was nearly beaten to death. Attorneys say the crime warrants a death sentence.

    "Inside of me about 70% says yes, but the other 30% says that I have to be careful about that," Wiles said.

    Wiles says he supports capital punishment in cases where the evidence supports a conviction and is clear cut. He says he trusts the government and system to do the right thing in the case involving Pastor Dobson.

    Wiles handpicked Dobson to head the mission congregation and he says they often talked about how to handle difficult people. Police and prosecutors have released few details about the murder scene, but Wiles believes it may have been Dobson who let his attacker inside the locked church.

    Experts say the death penalty is highly controversial in religious circles with some supporting it and others opposing it and both sides pointing to scripture to make their case. That is why Wiles believes there needs to be balance.

    "The death penalty lives somewhere in the trusting the legal system, yet honoring what the bible teaches about life."

    The prosecutor leading the death case, Bob Gill, says Dobson's widow and his parents fully support the decision to seek death against Nelson, if convicted.

    Nelson has denied killing the preacher. In May, in an exclusive interview from jail, nelson said he was not involved in the killing.

    "I really am falsely accused of it," said the career criminal.

    Nelson puts the blame on a friend, Gregory Springs. Springs was arrested and charged with capital murder in the case, but the charges were later dropped.

    "The last thing you want to happen is for an innocent person to be convicted of the crime," Wiles said.

    The pastor says he wants the legal system to get it right, as he continues to help is still grieving congregation cope with the difficult decision ahead.

    "You can convict someone and give them the death penalty and that doesn't change what has happened, it doesn't bring clint back."

    http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-pas...,7994667.story

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    Man charged in Arlington pastor's death accused of assaulting jailer

    An Arlington man charged with capital murder in the death of an Arlington pastor has been indicted for allegedly assaulting a Tarrant County jailer.

    Steven LaWayne Nelson, 24, is in the Tarrant County Jail awaiting trial on capital murder and attempted capital murder charges in the death of Rev. Clinton Dobson and an attack on his assistant, Judy Elliott, in March 2011 at NorthPointe Baptist Church, 2001 Brown Blvd in Arlington.

    Nelson was recently indicted for assault of a public servant for an incident on Oct. 24, 2011. The indictment accuses him of striking a jailer with his hand.

    Nelson's attorney, Bill Ray of Fort Worth, said he had no comment about the latest indictment. Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty against Nelson. He remains jailed under $750,000 bond.

    http://blogs.star-telegram.com/crime...#storylink=cpy
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    Capital murder trial to begin

    In what could be the highest-profile criminal trial in years in Tarrant County, an ex-convict will go on trial on capital murder charges Monday in the suffocation death of a beloved Arlington pastor.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Steven Lawayne Nelson, 25, in the death of Clint Dobson, 28, during an apparent robbery gone bad on May 3, 2011.

    The brutal nature of the crime -- and the fact that it happened inside the church building -- shook members of the NorthPointe Baptist Church in north Arlington and others in the community, and its aftermath is still being felt.

    Prosecutor Bob Gill has declined to comment about the case, but details that surfaced after the killing depicted Nelson as an angry young career criminal who went on a shopping spree with credit cards stolen during the robbery and then laughed and bragged about the killing.

    Defense attorneys Bill Ray and Steve Gordon have likewise declined to comment about the case and have asked the judge, unsuccessfully, to move the trial outside of Tarrant County because of extensive pretrial publicity. Nelson has pleaded not guilty.

    Security is expected to be very tight in state District Judge Mike Thomas' courtroom, with additional sheriff's deputies brought in to keep a close watch on the potentially volatile defendant. In addition to being charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder in the church killing, Nelson has been charged with assaulting a jailer and is a suspect in the hanging death of a mentally ill inmate in the Tarrant County Jail.

    Talented young pastor

    Dobson was an up-and-coming young pastor who had worked to build NorthPointe Baptist, originally a mission offshoot of First Baptist Church of Arlington, into a full-fledged church serving north Arlington.

    Dobson and his assistant, Judy Elliott, who is in her 60s, had been working in the church that day in May at 2001 Brown Blvd. when a family member became worried that they couldn't be reached. A family member and a friend went by the church to check on them and found the door locked. They peered into a window and spotted somebody lying on the floor. The police were summoned, and the pair were found inside.

    Dobson had been beaten and then smothered with a plastic bag. Elliott had been beaten and left for dead but managed to survive, according to police reports.

    Elliott's car and other items were missing.

    About the same time police were descending on NorthPointe Baptist, two young men identified as Nelson and an acquaintance were seen using Elliott's credit cards.

    Two other friends told police that the pair laughed about Dobson's death after seeing a television news report that evening.

    Nelson was arrested a few days later at a town home where his mother lived, just three blocks from the church. The acquaintance, Anthony Gregory Springs, 20, was also arrested but told police he had joined Nelson later that day and was not involved in the killing. A grand jury declined to indict Springs in the killing but charged him with an unrelated aggravated robbery.

    Church members described Dobson as a talented young pastor who felt a calling to the ministry while attending Baylor University in Waco.

    Long criminal history

    Nelson had been released from a court-ordered anger-management program just three days before the killing.

    The program was part of a deal with Dallas County prosecutors that got Nelson deferred adjudication probation for the aggravated assault of his girlfriend, who later declined to cooperate with authorities.

    The assault charge came shortly after he had been released from state prison after serving time on a two-year sentence for theft.

    The charges were among a string of crimes on Nelson's record dating back to 2001, when he was still a juvenile. But the early crimes had been property crimes and had not been violent, Dallas prosecutors said.

    The allegations of violence, however, continued even after he landed in the Tarrant County Jail awaiting trial in the Dobson killing.

    In December, he was charged with striking a jailer with the back of his hand, and a jail employee told the Star-Telegram he had threatened to get even by harming a guard or another inmate.

    The hanging death of inmate Jonathan Holden, 30, in March has been linked to Nelson, although charges have not been filed against him in the case.

    Testimony about those allegations would not surface in the capital murder trial until the punishment phase, if Nelson is convicted.

    Taking comfort

    The trial is expected to last about two weeks, and the jury has already been selected after a laborious six-week questioning period.

    Church members told the Star-Telegram in March, the anniversary of the killing, that they were still struggling with the death but that it had drawn them closer together as a church.

    On a church Facebook page, Pray for NorthPointe Baptist Church, a posting in March urged parishioners to take comfort that "this world of tears, pain and evil has been exchanged for a land of joy, peace and perfection."

    A more recent posting, in March, quotes from John 16:33: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

    http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/09...-to-begin.html

    Terrible. Killing a pastor in his church should be an automatic ticket to death row.

  10. #10
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    Man being tried in Texas pastor's death at church

    Prosecutors say a man who wanted to steal a car walked to a North Texas church, then killed the pastor and beat the secretary before taking her vehicle.

    Steven Lawayne Nelson's capital murder trial began Monday in Fort Worth. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

    Defense attorneys did not make an opening statement.

    Several members of NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington testified that they had appointments with the Rev. Clint Dobson on March 3, 2011. They told jurors he didn't answer his phone or respond when they tried to get in the church.

    The secretary's husband, John Elliott, testified that he went to the church that afternoon and got inside. Elliott said he didn't recognize his wife because she was beaten so badly, and didn't see Dobson's body initially.

    http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/new...422f98603.html

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