BENTON COUNTY : Deadly drive
Posted on Sunday, July 6, 2008
Manuel Camacho and Serafin Sandoval-Vega plan to blame each other when their capital murder trial starts Tuesday in Benton County Circuit Court.
Camacho, 27, and Sandoval-Vega, 21, could be sentenced to death in the May 6, 2006, highway shooting of Daniel Francis.
Sandoval-Vega, who prosecutors say pulled the trigger, is charged with capital murder, while Camacho, the driver, is charged as an accomplice to capital murder. Roxana Hernandez, the front-seat passenger, also is charged as an accomplice, but her trial hasn’t been set.
After their arrests, the three blamed each other, and that theme will continue during the unusual simultaneous trial of Camacho and Sandoval-Vega, attorneys said.
“He didn’t do it,” said Tim Buckley, an attorney for Camacho. “That’s his defense. The prosecution alleges [it was ] some sort of gang initiation, but we’ll show it was more of a road-rage situation where Sandoval-Vega acted independently and Roxana Hernandez had a role, too.” Hernandez, 23, could receive a life sentence. She’s agreed to testify against the two men.
She initially denied knowing anything about the shooting, then said Sandoval-Vega did it, according to an affidavit.
Sandoval-Vega confessed, saying Hernandez pulled Camacho’s gun from the glove box and handed it him in the back seat of the black Honda Civic. Camacho told him to shoot as they traveled north on U. S. 71 Business near Pleasant Grove Road, Sandoval-Vega said.
Since then, Sandoval-Vega’s attorneys say there’s evidence that Camacho fired the gun from the driver’s seat, according to a court motion.
Camacho told police he had no idea that Sandoval-Vega had a gun in the car and knew nothing of any plans for a shooting.
The incident began after Camacho began aggressively driving around a car that pulled out in front of him on U. S. 71 B in Springdale. Witnesses told police that Camacho drove in front of the car, driven by Tracy Stith, and hit the brakes.
The two drivers continued north even after the shooting. Stith followed Camacho’s car for a while, relaying information to police before seeing that Francis, his friend and co-worker, had been shot.
Camacho, Sandoval-Vega and Hernandez were arrested later that day at a convenience store in Bentonville. Before police caught them, the three had stopped to buy ammunition for a. 357-caliber pistol at a Wal-Mart in Rogers.
Circuit Judge Tom Keith, who has been on the bench more than two decades, said this is his first case where two murder defendants will be tried at the same time.
Keith earlier denied requests by defense attorneys to try the men separately, saying he’s confident neither will be unfairly prejudiced.
Keith has set aside 24 days over six weeks for the trial, which will run Tuesday-Friday each week. This trial will take longer because there are two defendants and because attorneys need time to carefully choose the jury, given the chance jurors might have to decide on handing down the death penalty.
Attorneys already have eliminated dozens of potential jurors by reviewing questionnaires. Prospects were asked things such as if they know people involved in the case and their opinions on the death penalty.
About 90 people are left in the jury pool that will report to Keith’s courtroom Tuesday morning for interviews and possible selection, which could take up to two weeks.
More than 80 witnesses are subpoenaed for the trial, but probably not all will end up testifying, attorneys said.
Al Valdez, a California expert on gangs, will testify that Francis’ shooting has the tell-tale signs of a gang initiation. Camacho has gang tattoos and was deeply involved in gangs when he lived in Southern California, Valdez has said.
Defense witness Brian Contreras is expected to counter that claim, saying initiation shootings are typically gang-on-gang.
Defense attorneys have tried to control pretrial publicity by asking that certain hearings be closed and certain documents be sealed.
Last August, Keith threatened to close a hearing over whether to separate the defendants’ cases, and attorneys for the Benton County Daily Record and Stephens Media Group objected. The Daily Record is published by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Keith cited concerns that Camacho and Sandoval-Vega would not get a fair trial, but he ended up keeping the hearing open.
During jury selection, defense attorneys will want to ask jurors their feelings on illegal immigrants. Camacho is a Mexican national and an illegal alien, police said. He gave a fake name when he was arrested, and police found a counterfeit resident-alien card in his Honda, the affidavit states.
Sandoval-Vega and Hernandez are legal residents, police said, but Sandoval-Vega initially gave another name when he was arrested, according to the affidavit.
The lifestyles of Camacho and Sandoval-Vega also will be an issue at trial. An informant told police that all three defendants used methamphetamine and marijuana, the affidavit states.
Likewise, Camacho’s attorneys have filed a motion saying they’ll explore aspects of Francis’ character, as well.
Widow Twyla Francis commented briefly about her husband before saying she wasn’t ready to talk at length about him or the shooting.
“Daniel was amazing, fun, compassionate, helpful, boisterous and funny,” she wrote in an email. “I’d love for people to know him, but... it hurts. I suppose that when someone dies, it’s always too soon for the rest of us.”
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