Tuesday, October 28, 1997
Two more inmates convicted
By ROY A. JONES II Regional Editor
SWEETWATER - Two more former Colorado City state prison inmates
have pleaded guilty to the gang-fight murder of a fellow prisoner
two years ago.
The pleas entered Monday by Ramon Antonio Perez, 21, and Salvador
Munoz Hernandez III, 21, bring to four the number of inmates convicted
in the death of Rene Omar Guerra, 22.
Three more inmates under indictment in the same case saw their
murder trials reset for early next year, District Attorney Mark
Edwards said.
Perez, who had been due to stand trial by jury on Monday, pleaded
guilty in exchange for a 22-year prison term after officials faced
difficulty empaneling a jury. Apparently many people who had been
summoned for jury duty in district court were confused by a weekend
news report saying jurors called to serve in a justice of the
peace court need not appear Monday, Edwards said.
The prosecutor said Perez' case was reset for today and officials
had begun contacting the absent potential jurors about the mistake
when Perez changed his plea to guilty.
Later Monday, Hernandez admitted his guilt, too, in return
for a 15-year term. In each case, the term the inmates received
for the murder is "stacked" on the terms they were already
serving, meaning terms of more than 40 years for some of the defendants.
Humberto Parra, 23, and Frank Ramirez, 23, each received a
25-year term after pleading guilty last week - just before jury
selection began in each case.
Guerra, who was serving a 10-year prison term from Taylor County
for theft and robbery, was stabbed with homemade, sharpened objects
and beaten to death in the Wallace Unit on June 25, 1995. Prison
officials said the altercation involved two Hispanic gangs in
the state prison.
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story
to A Friend:
Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
|
