"Billy Eichner Romantic Comedy 'Bros' Moves To Fall After 'Mission: Impossible 7' Re-Assignment To 2023". Excessive . 2. the calculated nature of the defendant's acts; Appellant has shown no particularized need for this study. 8/11/09 -- The federal appeals court affirmed the denial of certificate of appealability. Appellant's tenth and eleventh points of error are overruled. Accordingly, I continue to dissent to the majority's continued analysis of this issue and treatment of points one through four, but concur in the result. Appellant's fourteenth point of error is overruled. The murders also forced Houston city officials to treat gangs as a serious crime problem, when they had previously denied that there was a gang problem in the city. 37.071 2(b) and 2(e), the trial judge sentenced appellant to death.FN2 Article 37.071 2(g). "It does make a little difference. A brief summary of the facts will be helpful. The excerpt was also relevant as to the witness' credibility as it contradicted her testimony that she did not find the murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena somehow funny or amusing. "Theres nothing he would have said to me that would have made any difference," said Pena, who was wearing a white T-shirt with a photo of the two girls printed on the front. Proc. the Art. The class is further limited in that the death penalty cannot be imposed on an individual convicted of capital murder unless the jury answers the special issues in the manner described in Article 37.071, Section 1, Code of Criminal Procedure. "Two beautiful young girls," Goode says. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Schaetter Funeral Home, Fredericksburg. Pursuant to Tex. denied, 492 U.S. 912, 109 S.Ct. 7. psychiatric evidence; and A reading of the record of the cross-examination shows appellant is mistaken: the State's emphasis was on appellant's future dangerousness while in prison. [APPELLANT:] May we have a running objection to the out of court statements, judge? No, not in the least. 1/29/97 -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Cantus verdict and sentence. Jose Medellin was executed in August 2008. Appellant's counsel responded, Not guilty, Your Honor. After the jury was brought in the next day, the State read the indictment in their presence. It should also be noted that the statements were made in the presence of appellant's brother (a gang member himself) and his sister-in-law and thus the speakers reasonably felt they could confide in them and had no motivation to lie or place the blame for the crime on someone else. At T.C. 1339, 127 L.Ed.2d 687 (1994), Nelson v. State, 864 S.W.2d 496, 498 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), cert. During that conversation, Joe Cantu testified appellant agreed he had killed both girls and stomped on their necks. Appellant was tried under the 1992 version of Article 37.071.FN8 Since appellant has simply made a global argument as to all capital defendants since the 1970's, and has not shown us how his specific rights were violated by application of the statute, his contentions are without merit. . H-07-CV-3016, 2009 WL 275172 (S.D.Tex. ] (Emphasis added.). Evidence showed Cantu kicked one of the girls in the face with his steel-toed boot. Maybe some satisfaction, but never closure.". Thus, reasonable jurists would not-and have not-disagreed with the district court's resolution of this claim, and we deny a COA as to this issue. Andrea Gorfolova. The district court, in turn, evaluated the state court's conclusion that the arguments were proper under the due process standard. Each of these requested charges should have been submitted to the jury to correct the otherwise unconstitutional nature of the issue on mitigation as discussed in Point of Error Fourteen. Pete Cantu - Lubbock, Texas, United States | Professional Profile | LinkedIn View Pete Cantu's professional profile on LinkedIn. When the rapes finally ended, the horror was not over. According to the police, after beating a woman and attempting to steal her car on the city's West Side on Feb. 18, 2015, three suspects could not figure out the vehicle's push-button ignition. Roland Gonzales is suspected of stealing more than $100 worth of steak from H-E-B. at 49. 284, 126 L.Ed.2d 234 (1993). Christina subsequently convinced her husband to report the incident to the police. Man arrested after police say he stole vehicle of deputy who was chasing him on foot, More than 21K CPS Energy customers lose power due to storms, Texas mom accused of killing her children has history of violence, Pedro Cantu III booking photo from Guadalupe Co. As such, we hold that our capital murder scheme does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Meanwhile, Jennifer Ertman and sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Pena, who were visiting a girlfriend, decided to head home, taking a shortcut across the railroad tracks. The special pleas, if any, shall be read by the defendant's counsel, and if the plea of not guilty is also relied upon, it shall also be stated. He told Venancio to stay behind, saying he was "too little to watch." By 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994), to the circumstances in this case. 724, 735-36 (5th Cir.2005). However, the erroneous admission of M. Pena's testimony as to her daughter's character and activities was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. "They left my house and they were supposed to go home," Rios said. Maria Cantu Hexsel 221 West 6" Street, Suite 1800 Jennifer Buntz GERMER GERTZ . "At least some of the scumbags are dead. 2253, 132 L.Ed.2d 260 (1995). The district court noted that the prosecution was seeking to counteract Cantu's mitigating evidence by bringing attention to the victims and comparing the legal process by which Cantu might receive a death penalty to the brutality of the murders committed by Cantu. View Source Share Save to Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Texas In response to her friend's cries, Jennifer ran back to help, but appellant grabbed her and dragged her down the hill as well. Nevertheless, in light of Tex.R.App.Pro. 84 Lumber. * * * Article 36.01, which governs the order of proceeding in trial, states in pertinent part: The record reveals that M. Pena was one of over thirty witnesses who testified at punishment, and her testimony before the jury comprised less than twenty pages out of over 700 pages of testimony at punishment. Co-Defendants: Four accomplices were charged with capital murder following their arrest: Derrick Sean O'Brien, Raul Villareal, Efrian Perez, and Jose Medellin. The failure to assign a burden of proof on the mitigation issue (or to place the burden on the defendant) does not render the scheme unconstitutional. McFarland v. State, 845 S.W.2d 824, 844 (Tex.Crim.App.1992), cert. Cantu asked them if they wanted to get some, but Roman told him that he did not rape or kill girls. On that June night, the girls were hoping to beat an 11:30 p.m. curfew by taking a shortcut home to Pena's northwest Houston neighborhood. Specifically, appellant wanted to ask veniremembers if they could hold the State to the burden of proof of beyond a reasonable doubt. In point thirteen, appellant remarks that this Court has said that it can and should interpret the Texas Constitution in a more expansive manner than the federal constitution and cites us to several cases for this proposition. (Habeas). With the final execution completed, Pena said the two murdered girls can finally have peace. Elgin, Texas. (806) 763-8400. See Rousseau, 855 S.W.2d at 686-87; Felder v. State, 848 S.W.2d 85, 101 (Tex.Crim.App.1992), cert. We further held in Rey v. State, 897 S.W.2d 333, 337 (Tex.Crim.App.1995), that Ake applies to non-psychiatric experts like pathologists. All Rights Reserved. 1115, 130 L.Ed.2d 1079 (1995); McFarland, supra. See Lawton, supra; see also McFarland, supra. Both expressed regret for their role in the killings. Appellant's specific complaint seems to be racial discrimination based on the race of the victim in that he notes that appellant is Hispanic and the named victim was white. Point of error forty-two is overruled. (internal quotation marks omitted). In his thirty-fourth point of error, appellant complains that neither he nor his trial counsel was given the opportunity to enter a plea of not guilty to the jury; thus, he contends, his conviction is void ab initio. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Further, he asserts that there exists a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding was affected by the graphic nature of the photographs. If the defendant refuses to plead, the plea of not guilty shall be entered for him by the court. Pete Cantu, 82. ] (emphasis added). A State may legitimately conclude that evidence about the victim and about the impact of the murder on the victim's family is relevant to the jury's decision as to whether or not the death penalty should be imposed. In points thirty-seven and thirty-eight, appellant complains that the admission of unadjudicated extraneous offenses during the sentencing phase violated Article 37.07 and the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Notwithstanding appellant's inadequate briefing, we note that the United States Supreme Court stated in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. Two of Cantu's companions in the gang they dubbed the Black and White preceded him to the death chamber. A rational jury could not have found that appellant did not intend to kill the victim. At the time of Cantu's trial, 2(e)(1) stated: The court shall instruct the jury that if the jury returns an affirmative finding to each issue submitted under Subsection (b), it shall answer the following issue: Whether, taking into consideration all of the evidence, including the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's character and background, and the personal moral culpability of the defendant, there is a sufficient mitigating circumstance or circumstances to warrant that a sentence of life imprisonment rather than a death sentence be imposed. We decline to do so. Once dead, the girls' bodies were left in the woods, and the gang members proceeded to Cantu's home, where they bragged of their crime to Cantu's brother and sister-in-law. He specifically states that the Texas death penalty is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article 1, Section 13 of the Texas Constitution. Jail. In points of error eighteen and nineteen, appellant avers that the mitigation issue of Article 37.071 2(e) violates the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution because it shifts the burden of proof to the defendant or omits it entirely. Over the years, Rios regularly asks what else she might have done to prevent their deaths. Furthermore, any error, assuming there was error, was harmless. In the first statement, Cantu only admitted his role in raping and stealing from the girls, but he was silent as to their murder. Two members also have been executed and two others are serving life prison sentences. Appellant contends in his forty-fourth point of error that Article 37.071 2(a),FN13 which prohibits the judge and the parties from informing the jury of the effect of a failure of the jury to agree on their answers to the special issues, violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Four of the other assailants that night were also convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. 3230, 106 L.Ed.2d 578 (1989). Jose Medellin was executed in August 2008. 9/19/07 -- Cantu filed his federal habeas corpus petition in a Houston U.S. district court. Nevertheless, such error is subject to a harm analysis. Jester Park in Houston to participate in a gang initiation ritual. As in guilt/innocence, the State is required to prove each element of the punishment issues beyond a reasonable doubt. It is clear that the excerpt from the letter was admissible to show the witness' strong bias in favor of appellant. 2113, 147 L.Ed.2d 125 (2000) (emphasis added). SAN ANTONIO A man suspected of stealing an unmarked Bexar County Sheriffs Office cruiser during a chase Tuesday was arrested New Braunfels Wednesday morning. The other gang members present were Derrick O'Brien, 18; Jose Medellin, 18; Efrain Perez, 17; and Roman Sandoval. Perez and Villarreal will not be eligible for parole consideration for more than two decades. This murder was unsolved until after O'Brien was arrested for the murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena. denied, 514 U.S. 1117, 115 S.Ct. Point of error thirty-two is overruled. We further note that appellant made no request for such a special verdict form and no objection was made to the instruction given at trial. The State did not directly or indirectly accuse counsel of suborning perjury or manufacturing evidence, as appellant claims in his brief. FN5. Point of error forty-four is overruled. At this point, the Sandoval brothers decided that it was time to leave. At bottom, Cantu urges this court to extend the holding in Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. * that appellant threatened a woman and broke a window at her home; In related point twenty-three, he further alleges that the trial court's charge on unadjudicated offenses requires reversal because there is no way for this Court to meaningfully review the sufficiency of the evidence. "He deserved to die, and 17 years later he died. 600, 121 L.Ed.2d 537 (1992). The record reveals that after the jury was selected, but prior to trial, appellant was arraigned outside the presence of the jury. Missing from the list this year are such veteran Forbes 400 members as Red McCombs ($1.25 billion) and T. Boone Pickens ($950 million). The gang then drank beer and engaged in horseplay. * * * 2. Appellant alleges in point thirty-three that the death penalty as presently administered in Texas is cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, 13 of the Texas Constitution. Appellant asked them if they wanted to get some, but Roman told him that he did not rape or kill girls. Cantu seeks a COA on five issues: (1) whether due process requires the state trial court to inform the jury that, if sentenced to life in prison instead of death, Cantu would be eligible for parole after thirty-five years; (2) whether the district court's determination not to instruct the jury on lesser-included offenses violated the Eighth Amendment; (3) whether the way Texas places mitigating evidence before the jury violates the Eighth Amendment; FN1 (4) whether Cantu was rendered ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel did not object on due process grounds to the trial court's admitting photographs that depicted the victims' bodies and the crime scene; and (5) whether Cantu was rendered ineffective assistance because his trial counsel did not object to the prosecution's sentencing-phase argument urging the jury to consider those photographs. Point of error forty-one is overruled. Cantu's assertion, however, invites us to look only at a single item of evidence and to ignore all of the remaining evidence in the case. A drunken O'Brien had told Patricia that if she did not cause him to have an erection through oral sex, he would kill her. You know, if you got the law you argue the law, if you got the facts you argue the facts, if you don't have either the law or the facts you don't have anything. These girls went through an awful lot of pain when they died," said Adolfo Pena, father of Elizabeth. Copyright 2018 - 2023 PLEASANTON EXPRESS. However, the protesters in attendance did little more than annoy the families. Point of error thirteen is overruled. However, enough tissue did exist for the medical examiner to determine that the girls had died of a trauma to the neck which was consistent with strangulation. , 30, a security guard, was charged with burglary of a business he was hired to protect. When Peter Cantu saw Jenny and Elizabeth, he thought it was a man and a woman and told the other gang members that he wanted to jump him and beat him up. They first passed by Roman and Frank Sandoval without incident. Rousseau v. State, 855 S.W.2d 666 (Tex.Crim.App. Texas law initially limits the class of murderers eligible for capital punishment to those convicted of murders involving special circumstances as described in Texas Penal Code 19.03. FN3. Pete Cantu, age 41, passed away on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, in Orange Grove, Texas. The trials of Efrain Perez, Raul Villarreal and Jose Medellin were held simultaneously, with common witnesses shuttling from one courtroom to the other. Ertman made the drive here four years ago for the first execution. HUNTSVILLE, Texas Texas has executed a former gang member who took part in the rape and murder of two teenage girls who were walking home from a neighborhood party 17 years ago. (Direct Appeal) In what police later would describe as a sadistic frenzy, the girls were gang-raped for more than an hour. "He should have been hung outside the courthouse," Ertman said in an interview with The Associated Press. Medellin said that they "had fun" and that their activities would be seen on the TV news. Mayes v. State, 816 S.W.2d 79, 86 (Tex.Crim.App.1991); Camacho v. State, 864 S.W.2d 524 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), cert. Instead of taking her back to her truck, the trio took her to a back parking lot in Melrose Park in Houston, where they took turns raping and sexually assaulting her before stabbing her to death. Venancio Medellin, who was 14 at the time, was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Evidence of the mental or physical incapacity of the defendant caused by voluntary intoxication may be introduced by the defendant in mitigation of the penalty attached to the offense for which he is being tried. We note initially that Article 37.071 does not objectively define mitigating evidence, leaving all such resolutions to the subjective standards of the jury. Webb, 760 S.W.2d at 268; Tucker, 771 S.W.2d at 530. Cantu and Derrick OBrien were tried before their fellow gang members. 1910, 150 L.Ed.2d 9 (2001) (using the clearly drafted catchall instruction of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 37.071 2(e)(1) as a frame of reference to compare its brevity and clarity against the confusing nature of the supplemental instruction given in that case). 78 and Loop 1604. Of the six people convicted, five were sentenced to death. The off-duty deputy, who was charged with driving while intoxicated, had fallen asleep inside the Whataburger before he was found asleep again by a Universal City police officer this time behind the wheel of a running pickup with a cold, open tall boy.Read more: Police: Deputy arrested for DWI ordered burger, fell asleep. 586, 130 L.Ed.2d 500 (1994). The State can talk all day long about what a horrible person he is and how these girls, those children. Those children suffered a brutal killing. A little knowledge of routine vehicle maintenance may have kept. He has declined to speak with reporters as his execution date neared. Any subsequent references to Articles are to those in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure unless otherwise identified. 2253(c)(1). Proc. Appellant avers in his thirty-sixth point of error that the trial court violated his rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments by submitting an instruction concerning intoxication during the sentencing phase. The death penalty in general is immoral, uncivilized, cruel, inhumane, barbaric, unjust and vengeful. 313, 126 L.Ed.2d 260 (1993); Green v. State, 912 S.W.2d 189, 193-94 (Tex.Crim.App.1995) cert. That evidence, including youth and mental health testimony, may only be considered by you as mitigation of his punishment. Houston police researched older cases and found a possible match with the unsolved murder of Patricia Lourdes Lopez. Now, Cantu seeks a COA on five of the issues he raised below. As we stated in Robertson v. State, 871 S.W.2d 701, 711-12 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), cert. ), cert. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989), with respect to mitigating evidence. DMCA NoticesNewspaper web site content management software and services. Article 37.071 2(f)(4) defines mitigating evidence to be evidence that a juror might regard as reducing the defendant's moral blameworthiness. (Emphasis added.) Cantu walked in as the rest were recounting their exploits to his older brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Christina Cantu, in graphic detail. Does she have blond hair?!!?" Cantu v. State, 939 S.W.2d 627 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). On the night of June 24, 1993, this gang met to initiate a new member, Raul Villareal. Both Tison and Enmund were concerned with the implementation of the death penalty on defendants who were not proven to have an intent to kill. The indictment or information shall be read to the jury by the attorney prosecuting. Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (Cantu), Cantu, Peter Anthony 1. the circumstances of the capital offense, including the defendant's state of mind and whether he was working alone or with other parties; 2458, 104 L.Ed.2d 1013 (1989); Harris v. State, 827 S.W.2d 949, 962 (Tex.Crim.App. Pete enjoyed being outdoors, working with his hands, welding, carpentry, gardening and spending time with his dog Emma. The subsequent boastful statements of the remaining gang members revealed that what then ensued was a brutal gang rape of both of the girls. Work history: Acw Specialties Sheet Metal Worker. Looking at the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, the record reveals the following facts: Appellant was the self-appointed leader of a gang called the Black and Whites in Houston. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. For the reasons stated in my dissents in Rhoades v. State, 934 S.W.2d 113 (Tex.Cr.App.1996); Anderson v. State, 932 S.W.2d 502 (Tex.Cr.App.1996), and Morris v. State, 940 S.W.2d 610 (Tex.Cr.App.1996), I dissent to the majority's treatment and discussion of points one through four. Indeed, we have rejected this argument recently. Rousseau, 855 S.W.2d at 687, n. 26. Point of error twenty-two is overruled. He asserts that the nexus requirement set out by this Court in cases like Lackey v. State, 819 S.W.2d 111, 135 n. 10 (Tex.Crim.App.1989), Mines v. State, 852 S.W.2d 941 (Tex.Crim.App.1992),FN4 Richardson v. State, 879 S.W.2d 874 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), and Willingham v. State, supra, is no longer valid in light of the post- Penry sentencing scheme.FN5 He conclusorily states that, while a nexus was required under these post- Penry, pre-statute cases, this should no longer be the law in light of the enactment of Article 37.071, Section 2(e).FN6. Cantu then sought state post-conviction relief. Choose one of our three Metal Depot locations in Southeast Texas for all of . Jester Park when Ertman, 14, and Pena, 16, crossed their paths while taking a shortcut home. "Texas executes gang member for murder of 2 girls," by Michael Graczyk. The Ertmans and Penas gathered friends and neighbors to help them pass out a huge stack of fliers with the girls' pictures all over the Houston area, even giving them to newspaper vendors on the roadside. Peter Cantu bragged to friends and family about being the ringleader of the gang rape and murder of 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena in 1993. Authorities were able to track Cantu down to the 100 block of Charles Avenue shortly after midnight. For a rational jury to find that appellant was guilty only of murder, some evidence must exist in the record that appellant did not commit sexual assault, robbery, or kidnapping or did not kill during the commission of or in the immediate flight from committing any of these offenses. A belt of the same type that was used to kill Jennifer Ertman was found underneath Patricia's neck. Pedro "Pete" Cantu, Jr. passed away at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge at the age of 63 surrounded by his loving family. Patricia's estranged husband suffered through a long period of being considered a suspect in his wife's murder. Because appellant did not specify at trial which complaint he was asserting, his objection was not sufficiently specific to preserve review on appeal. Visitation for Mr. Pedro Pete Cantu will begin on Sunday, February 2nd from 2:00 till 7:00 P.M. and on Monday, February 3rd from 7:00 A.M. till 1:00 P.M. in the chapel of the Schaetter Funeral Home, Fredericksburg. Defendant was convicted upon jury verdict in the District Court, Harris County, William Harmon, J., of capital murder and was sentenced to death. Zimmerman v. State, 881 S.W.2d 360 (Tex.Crim.App. The families filed missing persons reports with the Houston Police Department and continued to look for the girls on their own. The Funeral Masswill be celebrated at 1:00 PM at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church on that same date. Race: White The subsequent boastful statements of the remaining gang members revealed that what then ensued was a brutal gang rape of both girls. The girls were abducted by Cantu and four members of a street gang he led as they walked along a set of railroad tracts, a shortcut home for them. However, he does contend the evidence is insufficient to support the jury's affirmative answer to the special issue on future dangerousness. BCSO spokesman Roseanne Hughes said deputies were serving a warrant in the area and noticed the BMW speeding away from the scene. Fourteen-year-old Venancio watched as the others raped both girls orally, vaginally, and anally until appellant told him that he should get some. The girls were still being raped when appellant whispered to Venancio, We're going to have to kill them. When everyone was finished, appellant told them to take the girls to the woods where they proceeded to strangle them. Valerie Nicole. "We could have put all of them in prison for life. Roman's brother, Frank, and Joe's fourteen-year-old brother, Venancio, were also present. We do note that on the penultimate page of his brief, appellant refers to the term, continuing threat to society. This Court has repeatedly rejected the contention that terms such as this must be defined in the charge.
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