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Thread: Shawna Forde - Arizona Death Row

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    Shawna Forde - Arizona Death Row


    Raul Flores


    Brisenia Flores


    Shawn Forde


    August 13, 2009

    Death Penalty Sought for 3 Tied to Border Group

    ARIVACA, Ariz. (AP) - Prosecutors said Thursday they plan to seek the death penalty against the leader of an anti-illegal immigrant group and two others charged in an Arizona home invasion that left a 9-year-old girl and her father dead.

    The trio are alleged to have dressed as law enforcement officers and forced their way into a home about 10 miles north of the Mexican border in rural Arivaca on May 30, wounding a woman and fatally shooting her husband and their daughter.

    A notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Shawna Forde, Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Robert Gaxiola was filed Monday, Deputy Pima County attorney Kellie Johnson said.

    Forde is the leader of the Minutemen American Defense border watch group. She's accused of planning the attack to help fund her anti-immigrant operations.

    Prosecutors argued that the three committed the crime in a cold and calculated manner, that they did it for money and had previous convictions for serious offenses.

    Each defendant is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, armed robbery and aggravated robbery. All three suspects have pleaded not guilty

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8324411

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    In unrelated cases, Bush is accused of killing a homeless man in Wenatchee in July of 1997 and an 18-year-old East Wenatchee man in September of that year.

    August 18, 2009

    Bush faces death penalty

    By Tim Steller
    The Arizona Daily Star

    TUCSON, Ariz. — Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against the three people accused of killing a man and his 9-year-old daughter on May 30 in southern Arizona.

    Deputy Pima County Attorneys Rick Unklesbay and Kellie Johnson filed a notice of their intent last week in the cases against Shawna Forde, former Wenatchee resident Jason E. Bush and Albert R. Gaxiola.

    The three are accused of breaking into the Arivaca home of Raul Junior Flores and his wife, and killing Flores and his daughter, Brisenia. Flores' wife was shot three times but survived and, in an exchange of gunfire captured on a recording of her 911 call, managed to hit Bush and injure him slightly, according to Pima County Sheriff's Department investigators.

    In unrelated cases, Bush is accused of killing a homeless man in Wenatchee in July of 1997 and an 18-year-old East Wenatchee man in September of that year. The East Wenatchee man, Jonathan Bumstead, was found shot to death in the Palisades area. The homeless man, Hector Lopez Partida, was stabbed to death while sleeping near grain elevators near the 700 block of South Wenatchee Avenue.

    Washington prosecutors have charged Bush with murder in both of those cases.

    In Arizona, the prosecutors listed six legal bases for seeking the death penalty. They include the arguments that the crimes were committed for monetary gain; that there was a victim under 15 years old; and that they were carried out in a cold, calculated manner.

    In Arizona death-penalty cases, once a conviction occurs, the jury decides whether execution is warranted.

    The investigators allege the ringleader of the group was Forde, the founder of a small border-watch group called Minutemen American Defense, based in Everett, Wash., but operating on the Arizona-Mexico border.

    They say Forde planned to rob suspected drug traffickers to fund her border-watch group and other activities. Former allies and relatives of Forde's say she discussed similar plans in the months before the killings.

    The investigators accused Bush of being the triggerman, first shooting Raul Flores, then his wife, then interrogating Brisenia before executing her, according to interviews and documents filed in a Washington state court.

    All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include two counts of first-degree murder.

    In an Aug. 2 letter to the Star, Gaxiola, of Arivaca, said he is not "the beast the sheriffs state I am."

    "Innocent until proven guilty is still the law of the land," he wrote.

    In an interview with the Star last week, Bush said he is not guilty of the slayings, was not a member of Minutemen American Defense and that he favors open borders. He also said he had been compiling dossiers on people or groups.

    Forde has declined interview requests, but a Web site set up on her behalf — www. justiceforshawnaforde.com — argues that she was set up and is now being "railroaded

    http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090818/NEWS04/708189978/1001/NEWS04

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    October 13, 2009

    Arivaca murder suspects in court

    TUCSON — Defense lawyers are seeking separate trials for three people accused of a brutal double-murder in an Arivaca home invasion in May.

    There could be two trials or three, officials said, but none before January 2011, Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo said Tuesday.

    Shawna Forde, Albert Robert Gaxiola and Jason “Gunny” Bush are accused of gunning down Raul Flores Jr. and his 9-year-old daughter Brisenia in a crime that could be connected to Forde’s bizarre anti-immigration views. Flores’ wife suffered a gunshot wound during the incident; a second daughter was not home during the murders. Forde, who has a long arrest record, hoped to obtain money from a drug dealer to finance an anti-illegal immigration campaign, according to records.

    On Tuesday, Forde refused to be taken from Pima County Jail to the Criminal Courts building downtown and skipped the court hearing.

    Bush and Gaxiola appeared handcuffed and wearing prison uniforms as they took seats in the jury box and conferred with their lawyers. With a dark shock of hair combed neatly back and a heavy black goatee, Bush mostly stared straight ahead. Gaxiola, with close-cropped hair and wispy goatee, smiled when he walked into court, raised his handcuffed wrists in a wave at the small audience, then bounced around in his seat during the hearing.

    Bush likely will be tried separately from Forde, both defense and prosecution lawyers agreed, because he already has given statements to investigators about the other defendants.

    The next hearing was scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 23, when trial dates could be set, and Leonardo said he wanted written motions on splitting the trials submitted by Nov. 6.

    Gaxiola’s lawyer, Jack Lansdale Jr., said he did not agree with a prosecutor’s assertion that Forde and Gaxiola could be tried together and said he would file a motion detailing a legal basis for splitting their trials, so it may be premature to set trial dates in November. He did not give the basis for separating the trials, but said he would be ready for trial by 2011.

    Prosecutor Rick Unklesbay said he would prefer to try Forde and Gaxiola together, but has not seen the defense motions and said the judge will decide that issue. The trials should take between four and six weeks, he said.

    Unklesbay said the trial must begin by the end of 2010 or start of 2011 under a speedy-trial rule, and noted that it would be difficult to impanel a jury in December 2010, because of the holidays.

    Bush’s lawyer, Christian Kimminau, said his client would accept a later starting date, but the judge said he could not waive his right to a speedy trial.

    One of Forde’s lawyers, Eric Larsen, said his client “has led a complicated life and it requires a great deal of record-gathering from numerous jurisdictions.”

    The prosecution made a motion to seek Bush’s cell phone records between April 1 and June 16, and Kimminau said he had no objection.

    Unklesbay said that while Forde can refuse to be transported to a hearing, she can be compelled to attend the trial.

    http://www.gvnews.com/articles/2009/10/13/breaking_news/00arivaca.txt

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    Arivaca murder suspects could face death penalty

    TUCSON - Three people accused of murdering a 9-year-old girl and her father in Arivaca appeared in court Monday. The hearing was to determine if prosecutors could push for the death penalty.

    Shawna Forde, Jason Bush, and Albert Gaxiola are accused of barging into a home in Arivaca back in May looking for cash and drugs.

    9-year-old Brisenia Flores was shot and killed along with her father, Raul.

    One of the suspects, Shawna Forde is the national head of Minutemen American Defense. After a new ruling earlier this year, the suspects were back in court for Pima County's first mandatory hearing to determine if the prosecution can push for the death penalty.

    Only one witness took the stand, and through that witness we got our first look at what happened the night of the murder.

    Detective Juan Carlos Navaro interviewed Gina Flores, the lone survivor of the attack. She told him how the alleged trigger man, Jason Bush, shot her husband multiple times, then her. As she laid on the floor acting like she was dead, Bush then turned to 9-year-old Brisenia.

    Talking about this interview with Gina Flores Detective Navaro said, "Brisenia was asking 'why, why, why (did) you shoot my dad and shoot my mom'." Then she heard Brisenia was shot.

    Navaro said Bush shot Brisenia twice in the face, once from such close range, the gun was actually touching her.

    He said, "The second shot was a contact shot. It was Brisenia's left cheek."

    Detective Navaro also was the one who interviewed Bush after he was arrested. He said, Bush admitted was Forde was the mastermind but she did not appear in court for the hearing.

    Navaro said, "Bush said prior to making entry into the home that Forde said not to leave any witnesses behind."

    We were not allowed to show video of Gina and her family but the testimony brought nearly all of them to tears.

    Bush is set to go to trial next October and both Forde and Gaxiola will have their trials in January of 2011.

    http://www.kvoa.com/news/arivaca-murder-suspects-could-face-death-penalty

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    February 23, 2010

    "Little doubt" Shawna Forde involved in slayings, say lawyers for co-defendant

    EVERETT — There is “little doubt” that border-watch activist Shawna Forde of Everett was involved in the May 30 killings of an Arizona man and his young daughter, attorneys for one of her co-defendants are now alleging in court papers.

    Meanwhile, court documents show an Arivaca, Ariz., man, who claims he was involved in planning for the home invasion but was too drunk to participate, told prosecutors that Forde later described to him how the raid ended in death and a gun battle with the lone surviving victim.

    The details are contained in dozens of pages of court papers filed Feb. 9 in Pima County Superior Court in Tucson, Ariz.

    Attorneys Jack L. Landsdale, Jr., and Steven D. West represent Albert Gaxiola, 42. Gaxiola, Forde, 42, and Jason Bush, 35, formerly of Wenatchee, are charged with first-degree murder and other crimes.

    The charges stem from the night Raul “Junior” Flores, 29, and his 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia, were killed. The child’s mother also was shot three times, but managed to drive away the attackers in a gun battle that was recorded while she spoke with a 911 emergency dispatcher.

    Gaxiola’s attorneys have asked a judge to reconsider a December ruling that cleared the way for prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the trio. They say Gaxiola’s case must be considered separately because he wasn’t in the home at the time of the killings, and “is clearly and unequivocally in a separate and distinct situation than are Shawna Forde and Jason Bush.”

    Arizona authorities contend the group robbed the Flores home looking for drugs and money. They accuse Forde and Bush of being the pair who dressed in camouflage uniforms and got inside posing as law enforcement officers.

    “There is no question that Jason Bush was the person who actually shot both of the victims and there is little doubt that he was accompanied by Shawna Forde, when the home of the Flores family was invaded,” Gaxiola’s attorneys said in court papers.

    Forde has denied any involvement. Her lawyer also has said there is no evidence against her.

    Jewelry believed taken during the raid was found in Forde’s purse, inside her car, when she was arrested June 12, according to court papers. Meanwhile, prosecutors say Bush has given a statement detailing what happened.

    One robber bled after being shot during the raid. Genetic tests have linked the blood to Bush, prosecutors allege.

    Within hours of the raid, Forde sought help from other border-watch activists for a gunshot wound to Bush’s leg.

    The court papers filed by Gaxiola’s lawyers contain excerpts from a statement given by Oin Oakstar, also of Arivaca. He’s told prosecutors he was in on planning for the raid, but didn’t participate.

    The hulking ex-con reached a plea agreement in the case. He promised to testify and received probation for a weapons possession charge.

    Oakstar was arrested within hours of the Flores killings after people in Arivaca directed suspicion his way.

    In a Sept. 25 statement to prosecutors, Oakstar said his arrest came as he was walking home from a post-raid meeting in Gaxiola’s house with Forde and Bush. He said he gave Bush pain pills and was nervous because Bush kept one of his hands hidden under a blanket.

    Oakstar said he had only just met the pair, but at Gaxiola’s urging had earlier driven them past the Flores home on a scouting trip.

    Oakstar reportedly told police there had been some talk about using force to eliminate Raul Flores as a threat during the holdup, including use of a sniper, but there was no plan to harm the man’s family.

    In court papers, Gaxiola’s lawyers argued that the Oakstar statement suggests what happened to the Flores family was not of Gaxiola’s making and he should not be at risk of death for alleged actions by Bush and Forde.

    Oakstar told prosecutors that first Bush, then Forde, recounted what happened during the raid:

    “I was standing in the doorway of the bedroom when she came in and I kinda put my back to the wall ‘cause I was still keeping an eye on Jason’s hand that he had under the blanket. And she came around and was standing to my right and she started to explain that things had gone to (expletive), that it didn’t work out, that, um, they had gotten in a shoot out, and that Junior (Raul Flores) was dead, that his daughter was dead, but his wife was still alive.”

    Oakstar said he told Forde and Bush that they had “messed up,” that “you can’t shoot women and kids.” He said Forde and Bush told him “it just happened that way.”

    According to court papers, Raul Flores was shot a total of six times; with bullets striking his head, chest and right arm. Brisenia Flores was shot twice in the face, including one shot fired so close the gun’s barrel touched her cheek.

    http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100223/NEWS01/702239911

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    FBI was warned of Arivaca home invasion

    The FBI was told that Shawna Forde was planning a home invasion in the Arivaca area weeks before a man and his 9-year-old daughter were shot to death there.

    According to documents filed this week in Pima County Superior Court, two confidential informants for the FBI say they told agents in April 2009 that Forde was recruiting people to raid a house she believed was filled with illicit drugs, money and guns.

    Raul Flores, 29; his wife, Gina Gonzalez; and their daughter, Brisenia Flores, 9, were shot by one member of a group of people who claimed to be law enforcement officers and demanded to be let inside their house on May 30, 2009. Gonzalez was the only survivor.

    The documents say Forde, 42, and others were on the verge of hitting additional targets when she, Jason Bush, 35, and Albert Gaxiola, 43, were arrested on June 12, 2009.

    All three have been charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Sheriff's officials said at the time that Raul Flores was suspected of being a drug dealer, and the three suspects targeted the house with the intention of stealing money and drugs.

    In a phone conversation taped by the FBI, Forde tells one of the informants that future jobs would be something of a test for a new recruit, saying: "Our hands are already dirty. We've got to know he can pull the trigger."

    Earlier this week, Forde's defense attorney, Eric Larsen, filed a motion asking Judge John Leonardo to force prosecutors to hand over all FBI documents pertaining to the two confidential informants. The documents indicate neither was paid for his information, nor were they cooperating to avoid prosecution in any unrelated cases.

    The documents include transcripts of separate interviews conducted by Pima County sheriff's Sgt. Jill Murphy and by defense attorneys. Also included are nonconfidential FBI reports summing up what the informants told agents.

    While the men say they told the FBI about Forde's plans before the slayings, the FBI reports don't reflect when it received the information.

    Dave Joly, a spokesman for the FBI's Denver division, said the bureau received the information "after the fact." He declined to comment further because the case has not yet gone to trial.

    Larsen said that, assuming the FBI actually was aware of the alleged plot, he wants to know what the FBI thought about the information because, he said, if the agency chose not to act on the men's information, that damages their credibility.

    "If the FBI didn't believe (the informants), why should the jury?" Larsen said.

    Both men are described as active members of the border-defense movement who routinely camp on the border so they can spot illegal immigrants and report them to the U.S. Border Patrol.

    One of them told investigators that he met Forde in October 2007 while on a mission outside Arivaca. He said that in April 2009, Forde called him, saying the other men she knew in the border-defense movement were "sissies," and she was impressed with his courage.

    The informant says Forde knew rocket-propelled grenades, drugs and millions of dollars were being funneled into the U.S. through Arivaca and wanted him to help her protect the community.

    Not wanting to get involved, the man told Forde to call another man.

    The second man says Forde shared her intelligence with him several times in person, over the phone and by e-mail.

    Once Forde made arrangements to meet with him, the second man said he deemed her serious and contacted his FBI handler, who instructed him to keep gathering information.

    The two men say they and two other men met with Forde at an Aurora, Colo., truck stop in late April 2009, at which time Forde said she wanted them to force their way into an Arivaca house and get control of the occupants.

    They said she told them a second team would then come in and gather up the drugs, money and weapons, which would be sold to help the Minutemen American Defense, an organization based in the state of Washington.

    One of them relayed the information to the FBI a few days later. The other corroborated his account of the meeting. They were told to keep on gathering information.

    Forde later called one of the men to ask if he could be in Arivaca within 18 hours, but he said he made excuses about why he couldn't. About 10 days later, they learned of the slayings.

    The men said they immediately suspected Forde, suspicions they said were confirmed when Forde called an associate to help Bush, who had been shot in the leg.

    Forde told their associate that Bush was shot while patrolling the desert, but they suspected Bush had really been shot during the home invasion, they told authorities.

    On June 7, one of the informants told Forde in a conversation taped by the FBI that he and the other informant wouldn't be able to drive to Tucson for a few days. He also told her he didn't want to bring one of the other participants in their truck-stop meeting because he didn't trust him.

    Forde replied that she did trust him and went on to say: "We can train him. We can start him on soft targets. Our hands are already dirty. We've got to know he can pull the trigger."

    Forde then put Bush on the phone. After saying he was recovering well from his gunshot wound, Bush told the informant: "We have a couple new areas; we have our eye on a couple potentials. We'll be ready to go Thursday or Friday."

    When Forde got back on the phone, the report indicates she bragged about Bush's toughness and said: "It's a brand-new team. They've been bled in."

    Larsen said that while authorities may assume Forde and Bush were talking about committing additional home invasions, they could just as easily have been discussing going on more desert patrols.

    Prosecutors had not received Larsen's motion last week and thus hadn't written a reply.

    Prosecutor Rick Unklesbay declined to comment on the motion, citing ethical rules.

    The FBI provided all of its other information to prosecutors in October, but in doing so it stated it was "loaning" them the documents, along with an admonition that it would be illegal to share them outside the office "for any purpose other than for use in prosecution."

    http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/bfe15833-f7a0-5aa7-9432-6dad29a10db5.html

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    At the Courthouse: Some decisions delayed in Forde case

    Judge John Leonardo denied a defense motion to delay Shawna Forde's murder trial Tuesday, but held off making other key decisions in the case.

    Forde is charged with first-degree murder in the May 2009 deaths of Raul Flores and his daughter, Brisenia.

    On Tuesday, the attorneys in the case argued a key motion under the assumption that Forde will be convicted.

    When someone is convicted of murder in a capital case, attorneys present what are called aggravating and mitigating factors.

    The aggravating factors, as one might guess, are those things that might make someone more inclined to vote for the death penalty. Mitigating factors are those that might cast the defendant in a more favorable light -- dysfunctional childhood, low IQ, substance abuse issues, etc.

    Late last month, defense attorneys told prosecutors they want jurors to hear that Forde was sexually abused as a child, raped in December 2008 and shot in January 2009 and all of these things led her to suffer from PTSD.

    Prosecutors responded by saying they want jurors to know there is no evidence of any of that. Forde is the main source for the childhood abuse and police closed the rape and shooting cases, saying there was insufficient evidence.

    Moreover, prosecutors want jurors to know Forde reported the rape and shooting shortly after police in Washington began investigating her in the shooting of her estranged husband.

    As if that's not enough, prosecutors also want jurors to know that while Forde's attorneys may cast her as a patriotic woman who does a lot of charitable works, she is also a suspect in two crimes that took place in California after the Flores' were slain.

    Prosecutor Rick Unklesbay said that although he would rather not get into it, he may also have to call two witnesses to the stand who would testify Forde told them she killed one of her children in Alaska several years ago.

    Forde's attorneys asked Judge Leonardo to either ban all of those aggravating factors OR postpone the trial to give them a chance to do more investigating.

    Forde has not been charged in the California crimes, Jill Thorpe pointed out.

    There's also a difference between "insufficient evidence" and "staging crimes" — which is what the prosecutors are hinting at, Thorpe said in regards to the shooting and rape.

    The judge denied the motion to postpone the trial and said he'd take up the rebuttal evidence as it comes up in the punishment phase (again, assuming there will be such a phase.)

    http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/cour...cc4c002e0.html

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    Trial under way for suspect in Arivaca murders

    In the early morning hours of May 30, 2009, the tranquility of the Arivaca home of Raul “Junior” Flores was disrupted by a loud, forceful knock at the door.

    Moments later, he and his 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia, were dead. More than a year and a half later, the first of three suspects goes on trial this month before Pima County Superior Court Judge John S. Leonardo.

    A 17-page questionnaire for 225 prospective jurors was administered Jan. 5 and jury selection continues Jan. 11. It could be completed by the end of the week.

    Shawna Forde, 42, the head of a fringe border-security group called Minutemen American Defense, faces the death penalty in the case. This spring suspects Jason Eugene “Gunny” Bush and Albert Gaxiola face separate trials in the killings.

    911 call

    Flores’ wife, Gina Marie Gonzalez, was frantic during a chilling 9-1-1 call as she described the scene in her living room and exchanged gunfire with intruders dressed in camouflage.

    “They told us that somebody had escaped jail or something and they wanted to come in and look at my house,” she said through tears. “We were asking, ‘What’s going on?’ and they were saying, ‘You don’t have the right to ask questions right now and we need to check your house.’”

    Gonzalez, referred to as Gina Flores by prosecutors in 2009, appears in 2010 court filings with the different name.

    Raul and Brisenia suffered head wounds during the attack; Gonzalez was shot in the leg. About 10 gunshots can be heard during a minute-long gunfight on the edited, 19-minute 9-1-1 call.

    “Get the (expletive) out of here,” Gonzalez yelled at one point.

    One of the shots fired by Gonzalez wounded one of the intruders, later identified by authorities as Bush, 36.

    In addition to first-degree murder, Forde also faces one count of attempted first-degree murder; one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery.

    In a ruling Dec. 20, Leonardo granted a motion allowing for the 9-1-1 recording to be played at trial.

    On Tuesday, Gonzalez testified at a Dessureault hearing, a motion to determine whether or not the identification procedures used by the detectives investigating the shootings were unduly suggestive. According to a court spokesman, Gonzalez testified that Forde resembled the female intruder that had led the group that killed her husband and daughter, but she could not say for certain that the intruder in her home was Forde.

    The court ruled Wednesday that the testimony would be allowed at trial.

    Minutemen American Defense

    Authorities have identified Forde and Bush as the leader and the operations director of a group called Minutemen American Defense. The Daily Herald in Everett, Wash., Forde’s hometown, quoted her birth mother as saying Forde told her that she planned to be involved in home invasions as a part of her group’s activities.

    “She sat here and said that she was going to start a group where they went down and start taking things away from the Mexican mafia,” Rena Caudle said from her Redding Calif., home. “She was going to kick in their doors and take away the money and drugs.”

    Documents from the FBI indicate that Forde’s group was planning a home invasion weeks before the shootings took place. According to the documents, two confidential informants told FBI agents in April 2009 that Forde had been recruiting people for the purpose of raiding a house that she believed contained illicit drugs, money and weapons.

    Early in the investigation, Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik identified Flores as “a large dealer” who likely had connections to large Mexican drug cartels and “has a history of being involved in narcotics.”

    According to investigators, the third suspect, Gaxiola, 43, had no apparent ties to Minutemen American Defense but had a long-standing dispute with Flores over “storing marijuana on their property.” Gaxiola is scheduled for trial at the conclusion of Forde’s trial.

    Not returning


    Gina Gonzalez and her older daughter, who was not home the night of the murders, have not returned to their home in Arivaca since the shootings.

    Raul Flores’ father and brother attended a community fund-raiser in Arivaca for the family in August 2009, but none have spoken publicly about the case.

    http://www.gvnews.com/sahuarita_sun/...cc4c002e0.html

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    Start of Arivaca-killings trial delayed

    Jury selection in the death-penalty trial of Shawna Forde, accused in a 2009 double-killing in Arivaca, has been postponed until next week.

    Although Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo denied a defense request to continue the trial at a hearing Monday, he granted a request Tuesday upon learning a medical issue had arisen in one of the attorneys' families.

    In light of the medical issue and the discussions held Monday, Leonardo said he had decided "the atmosphere is not conducive to going forward."

    Jury selection will begin next Wednesday.

    Defense attorney Jill Thorpe initially asked for a postponement because she feared jurors would draw parallels between the Forde case and the weekend's shooting of several people, including U.S. District Judge John M. Roll and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

    Forde is charged with first-degree murder in the May 2009 killings of Raul Flores and his daughter, Brisenia, at their Arivaca home.

    Authorities contend Forde thought Flores was a drug dealer and recruited a group to raid his house for drugs, cash and guns to help fund her border protection group.

    In both this past weekend's shootings and in the Arivaca case, 9-year-old girls were slain, and the suspects are alleged to have ties to the "ring wing," Thorpe said in her motion to postpone the trial.

    Specifically, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described Forde as "at best, a psychopath" and Jared Lee Loughner as "mentally unbalanced," Thorpe said. Forde was involved in the Minutemen American Defense and writings seized from Loughner's home suggested he has "right wing connections," she added.

    At a weekend press conference, Dupnik also referred to Tucson as the "Tombstone of the United States of America" because of the community's wide access to guns, Thorpe said.

    "Sheriff Dupnik blamed the nation's vitriolic political rhetoric, saying Arizona has 'become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry," Thorpe said. "Obviously, there are people who would characterize the border-watch movement as motivated by prejudice and bigotry and that their activities usually involve members carrying guns."

    The media attention is not likely to wane in the coming days, especially with the upcoming funerals, Thorpe said. All of Arizona's legal community will also likely attend services for Judge Roll, she noted.

    Thorpe's motion was filed before President Obama announced his decision to come to Tucson on Wednesday.

    "The defense urges that this community - a community who will be deciding Ms. Forde's guilt or innocence, and if convicted whether she should receive the death penalty - needs some time to heal and for any 'dots' that might be connected between the January 8 events and Ms. Forde to subside," Thorpe wrote in her motion.

    Defense attorney Eric Larsen said he told the judge during the hearing Monday he, himself, didn't feel emotionally equipped to move forward with the trial as he personally knew Roll.

    The attorneys are starting out with 98 prospective jurors as five have been excused for a variety of reasons over the last two days.

    Forde's co-defendants, Jason Bush and Albert Gaxiola, are scheduled to go to trial March 15 and June 1, respectively.

    http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crim...8057eb2db.html

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    Defendant Forde has extensive online support

    Google her name and you'll get nearly 23,000 hits. She has a Facebook page. Her fans have set up four websites. A local author is writing a book about her.

    But Shawna Forde isn't a pop star, and she isn't running for public office.

    She is charged with first-degree murder in the May 2009 deaths of 9-year-old Brisenia Flores and the girl's father, Raul "Junior" Flores, 29.

    Her supporters describe Forde as a loving mother of two who has taken in foster children and helped the homeless, victims of domestic violence and people infected with HIV. They insist she is being framed by federal and local agencies that feel threatened by her work with the Minutemen American Defense organization.

    But prosecutors contend Forde, whose trial starts Wednesday with jury selection, was so zealous in her quest to control the border she came up with a plan to fund her organization - stealing from people she thought were connected with drug cartels.

    Flores was her first target, they say.

    Backers call Forde a political prisoner whose only offense is being a "blonde on the border."

    One, Laine Lawless, has filed complaints with the State Bar of Arizona, the American Civil Liberties Union and the U.S. Department of Justice complaining about Forde's attorneys and her treatment in the Pima County jail.

    It's ridiculous to think a 43-year-old former hairdresser could mastermind the plot alleged by prosecutors, Lawless says.

    Prosecutors and sheriff's officials have declined to discuss the Internet furor over Forde's case.

    One of Forde's attorneys, Eric Larsen, has said most of the content on the websites has not been authorized by Forde and will not play a part in his defense strategy.

    On May 30, 2009, Gina Gonzalez was dozing alongside Flores in their Arivaca home when he woke her up shortly before 1 a.m. to tell her the police were at the door. She got dressed and joined their daughter on the couch.

    Flores opened the door when the woman on the other side identified herself as a cop looking for fugitives.

    The woman, a short, heavy-set Anglo woman dressed in camouflage and with brownish-blond hair and a drill sergeant's demeanor, was followed inside by a tall Anglo man.

    When Flores expressed doubts about their identity, the man opened fire.

    Flores was hit six times, in the head, chest and arm.

    Gonzalez was shot in the arm, leg and chest.

    As she lay there, pretending to be dead, the man put the gun to Brisenia's left cheek and pulled the trigger. Another shot entered near her nose and exited the back of her head.

    Gonzalez says the man stood near their bodies as the woman and at least two others ransacked her house.

    They then left.

    She was on the phone with 911 when she looked up and saw the woman standing on the threshold, smiling.

    "She saw me standing there, and her face dropped and she said 'Oh, (expletive),' " Gonzalez said at a recent hearing.

    The woman went outside and told someone to finish her off, Gonzalez said.

    When the tall man came in and opened fire, Gonzalez fired back, grazing his leg.

    On June 11, Jason Bush, 36, was arrested in Meadview on suspicion of first-degree murder.

    According to authorities, he confessed to being the gunman and implicated Forde, an Everett, Wash., resident, and Arivaca resident Albert Gaxiola, 43.

    Forde and Gaxiola were arrested the next day, she near Sierra Vista, he in Tucson.

    More than 60 witnesses are expected to take the stand during the trial.

    Among those testifying for the state:

    • Gonzalez - She will testify that although she was unable to identify Forde as the woman home invader in the days after the slayings, she now believes Forde looks "exactly like her."

    • Oin Oakstar - The ex-con will testify he and Gaxiola wanted to get rid of Flores, a competitor in the drug trade. Oakstar claims the plan was for Bush to shoot Flores outside his home, and nothing was said about a home invasion or harming Flores' family. Oakstar said he got too drunk to go the night of the slayings. He will also testify he had damaging conversations with the suspects after the shooting.

    • Robert "Anglo" Copley and Ronald "Raven" Wedow - The two Colorado men say Forde recruited them to take part in a home invasion in which a second team would gather up drugs, money and weapons, which would be sold to help the Minutemen American Defense.

    Not all of the state's case rests on live witnesses.

    According to court documents, prosecutors have damning texts sent between cell phones registered to Forde and Gaxiola, texts that were sent the morning of the slayings.

    In addition, detectives found jewelry belonging to Gonzalez in Forde's purse and women's camouflage clothing in Gaxiola's house.

    Larsen and co-counsel Jill Thorpe are expected to attack Gonzalez's identification of Forde with the testimony of Geoffrey Loftus, a psychologist who has done studies on memory and perceptions and how time can distort them.

    They are also expected to attack the credibility of Oakstar, a convicted felon who almost had his probation revoked last month because he missed drug tests and ignored his pre-approved schedule. They also plan to point out that Oakstar's wife, Sandy Somers-Stroup, matches the description of the female home invader. Forde, they have pointed out, was a platinum blonde at the time.

    Larsen and Thorpe will argue there is no direct evidence placing Forde at the scene of the crime, there are no reliable eyewitnesses, no DNA and no fingerprints.

    The defense attorneys don't believe Wedow and Copley are credible.

    There's no proof it was Forde who was texting Gaxiola the morning of the slayings, the attorneys say in court documents.

    If Forde is convicted, prosecutors Rick Unklesbay and Kellie Johnson will try to convince jurors Forde deserves the death penalty.

    They argue the crimes were committed for monetary gain, there was a victim under 15 years old, and the crimes were carried out in a cold, calculated manner.

    Larsen and Thorpe will try to save Forde's life by presenting evidence she suffers from neuropsychological issues, was sexually abused and abandoned as a child and struggled with substance abuse. They will call Forde's sister, son and daughter and others to testify about their love and support of Forde, the public service and volunteer work she's done, her lack of a criminal history and her steady employment history.

    What remains to be seen is how much evidence Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo will allow prosecutors to present to rebut the defense's mitigation.

    Forde filed police reports in Washington in December 2008 and January 2009 saying she had been raped and shot, possibly by people involved in the drug trade who were upset about her border activities.

    Unklesbay told Leonardo there is no evidence supporting Forde's claims, and police closed the rape and shooting cases, saying there was insufficient evidence.

    He also pointed out Forde reported the attacks shortly after police in Washington began investigating her in the shooting of her estranged husband.

    In addition, Unklesbay told the judge Forde is also a suspect in two crimes that took place in California after the Floreses were slain.

    One of the alleged victims was Forde's brother, Merrill Metzger, who, along with their mother, Rena Caudle, have been among her biggest detractors on the Internet.

    http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crim...04d05145c.html

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