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Thread: Mark Anthony Gonzalez - Texas Death Row

  1. #11
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Jury selection in trial of man accused of killing Bexar County Deputy

    Jury selection is expected to begin Monday in the capital murder trial of a man accused of killing a Bexar County Deputy.

    Mark Anthony Gonzalez is charged in the death of Kenneth Vann. On May 28, 2011, Vann was sitting in his patrol unit at the intersection of Rigsby Avenue and Loop 410 when he was shot and killed.

    According to an arrest warrant, Gonzalez allegedly confessed to a friend who then became an informant.

    Authorities described the shooting as an ambush where Deputy Vann did not have a chance to return fire.

    In 2012, Gonzalez launched into a violent outburst and was thrown out of court at the end of a hearing. He previously asked to fire his court-appointed attorney so he could hire his own.

    http://www.kens5.com/story/news/2015...alez/31401209/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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  2. #12
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Emotional officers recount arrival at scene of supervisor’s death

    By Elizabeth Zavala
    The San Antonio Express-News

    The first deputy on the scene following the fatal shooting of Bexar County sheriff’s Sgt. Kenneth Vann broke down in tears Tuesday as he described to jurors how his supervisor was nearly decapitated by a hail of bullets four years ago.

    “As soon as I saw the stripes and body, I knew it was Sgt. Vann,” Deputy Trace Shannon said during testimony in 175th State District Court, where the trial of Mark Anthony Gonzales is underway. “It was a gruesome sight. The vehicle was full of holes, glass was broken out, blood all over the interior.”

    Vann, 48, was at a traffic light at Rigsby Avenue and Loop 410 on the East Side around 2 a.m. on May 28, 2011, when he was shot more than 25 times by a .223-caliber rifle. He died at the scene.

    Gonzales has pleaded not guilty. The state is seeking the death penalty against Gonzales, who was arrested about a week after Vann was killed.

    In his opening statement, prosecutor Bill Pennington said Gonzales, who had been drinking all day and taking Xanax, had bragged to friends about his rifle, which had a halo scope and a high-capacity magazine.

    Pennington said Gonzales also had talked about lost opportunities, getting tickets and wanting to be a police officer, something he hadn’t been able to do. A motive for the killing has not been publicly stated.

    Defense attorney Paul Goeke declined to make an opening statement Tuesday.

    Shannon, one of the first to arrive after the shooting, was among eight witnesses who testified Tuesday. He told jurors that Vann’s hand was still on his computer keyboard inside his vehicle, which, he said, “told me that he did not have time to react.”

    Shannon said he remained until the medical examiner removed Vann from his car.

    Deputy Janice Henry, who works with BCSO’s crime scene unit, testified that Vann’s body had to be removed carefully so that the head would not separate from the torso. She said some of Vann’s teeth could be seen in the seat when his was removed from the car.

    Shannon told the court he has seen many fatalities, “but this one by far was the worst.”

    “We are trained to work to do the job,” he said through tears. “I knew we had a task at hand, so I had to suck it up.”

    Once Vann’s body was removed from the car and placed on the ground, Shannon said, it could be seen that everything from his chin to the top of his abdomen was “shredded or gone.”

    Another first responder, Officer Justin Rimmers, a tactical medic for the San Antonio Police Department, also became emotional on the stand, talking about how it was the first time he went to an “officer down” situation as a medic.

    His voice began to crack when he described how several deputies broke down and cried when they realized that they were responding to a fatality involving their supervisor.

    Henry described photographs she took at the crime scene for the court, which were displayed on a monitor behind state District Judge Mary Roman, who had warned the gallery that graphic images were about to be shown.

    Henry pointed out where glass had been blown out of the front driver and passenger windows and described in chilling detail each crime scene photograph as jurors watched.

    Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. today in the 175th state District Court.

    http://www.expressnews.com/news/loca...witter-premium
    "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. #13
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Defense attorney tells jury alleged cop killer remembers nothing

    SAN ANTONIO - For the first time since Mark Anthony Gonzalez’s trial on capital murder charges began last week, the jury heard from the defense.

    Gonzalez is on trial in the ambush-style shooting of Bexar County sheriff’s Deputy Kenneth Vann in the early morning hours of May 28, 2011.

    Vann was waiting at a traffic light at Rigsby Avenue and Loop 410 when Gonzalez allegedly pulled alongside his patrol car and opened fire with an assault rifle, firing a volley of 26 shots then pausing before triggering another 20 shots.

    In his opening statement Friday, Gonzalez’s attorney Paul Goeke said that a week before the shooting, Gonzalez had fallen while fishing at the coast and suffered a head injury. That resulted in a concussion for which Gonzalez was treated with medication.

    According to earlier testimony, Gonzalez had been drinking beer with friends and taking that medication just hours before the slaying.

    Goeke said that the combination of alcohol and the medication resulted in memory loss.

    “This is a well-documented neuropsychiatric phenomenon,” Goeke told the jury.

    He said that several days after the murder, Gonzalez’s friend Steve Starling discussed Vann’s killing with Gonzalez.

    “That is when Mark knew that he in fact must have done that,” Goeke said. “Mark told Steve Starling, ‘Steve, don’t tell anybody, not even your wife.'”

    “Mark was terrified,” Goeke said.

    One week after the murder, Starling told his wife and they told deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service.

    The trial will resume Monday at which time Goeke promised he would produce testimony from an expert on neuropsychiatry.

    If he is found guilty of capital murder, prosecutors said they will ask the jury to assess the death penalty.

    http://www.ksat.com/news/defense-att...embers-nothing

  4. #14
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Jury weighs fate of man accused of murder in deputy's slaying

    Mark Anthony Gonzales on trial for murder of Deputy Kennth Vann

    By Robert Taylor
    KSAT News

    SAN ANTONIO - The jury in the capital murder trial of Mark Anthony Gonzales began its deliberation at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

    Gonzales is accused in the May 28, 2011, shooting death of Bexar County sheriff's Deputy Kenneth Vann. He is accused of pulling alongside Vann’s patrol car, which was stopped at a traffic light, and firing 46 shots from an assault rifle, killing Vann.

    Closing arguments from both sides were heard Monday morning.

    During the trial, the defense argued that Gonzales' actions were the result of a concussion he sustained in a fall a week before the killing.

    “He lost his mind,” Dr. James Merikangas, a neurologist testifying for the defense, told the jury. “He was not connected.”

    That claim was called “bogus and fabricated” by an expert witness who testified for the prosecution.

    “I think certainly this concussion would not have affected his ability to understand the nature of his actions at the time of the events,” forensic psychiatrist Dr. Brian Skop testified.

    If Gonzales is found guilty of capital murder, prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

    http://www.ksat.com/news/jury-weighs...eputys-slaying
    "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

  5. #15
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Gonzales Guilty of Capital Murder

    Jury found Mark Anthony Gonzales guilty of capital murder via @KENSKarenGrace. Sentencing to begin 9 a.m. Tuesday.

    https://twitter.com/KENS5
    "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

  6. #16
    Senior Member Member OperaGhost84's Avatar
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    Not to be Grim but he was way ahead of his time. The crime looks like a headline we'd see today. In that respect, his timing was atrocious. This isn't the time to be shooting Cops. You better believe the State is making an example out of him (not that there's a problem with that)
    I am vehemently against Murder. That's why I support the Death Penalty.

  7. #17
    Jan
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    Convicted cop-killer sentenced to death

    After more than 20 hours of deliberations, a verdict was reached Tuesday in the sentencing of convicted cop-killer Mark Anthony Gonzalez.

    Gonzalez was found guilty last week, in the shooting death of sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Kenneth Vann four years ago after firing 46 shots from an assault rifle into his vehicle.

    http://www.ksat.com/news/convicted-c...enced-to-death

  8. #18
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    He hasn't been formally sentenced to death. A competency hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

    Formal sentencing will go forward once competency issue settled, Judge Carruthers has said.

    https://twitter.com/elizabeth2863
    "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

  9. #19
    Jan
    Guest
    I read about that too but a judge can't overrule the jury in Texas. I find this very strange, a competency hearing 2 days after a death sentence. Doesn't make it more sense to do this before the trial or to show the results of such tests to the jury?!

  10. #20
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    LOL Jan I was going to send you a pm and ask you to explain the reasoning for this competency hearing. It seems you are as mystified as I am
    "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

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