Arizona 2005

Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona

By: A jury

Date of crime: 5/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Boggs murdered Beatriz Alvarado, Kenneth Brown and Fausto Jiminez during a robbery of a fast food restaurant. Two of the victims were Hispanic and Boggs made statements to the police afterwards that his motive “was to rid the world of a few needless illegals.”

Prosecutor(s): Unknown

Defense Lawyer(s): Unknown

Sources: Arizona Republic 5/13/2005 (2005 WLNR 8486696).

Sentenced to death in Pima County, Arizona

By: A jury

Date of crime: 5/26/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Police officers went to Cruz’s apartment during an investigation of a hit-and-run traffic accident. After Cruz gave the officers a fake name, Cruz ran and Officer Patrick Hardesty chased him. During the pursuit, Cruz shot Officer Hardesty five times at close range. The defense contested guilt on the basis that there were no witnesses to the shooting and there was a lack of physical evidence that tied Cruz to the gun. In the penalty phase, the defense presented evidence of Cruz’s dysfunctional childhood and that drug use affected Cruz’s judgment when he murdered Officer Hardesty.

Prosecutor(s): Rick Unklesbay Defense lawyer(s): Brick P. Storts III

Sources: Arizona Daily Star 2/26/2005, 3/11/2005; Tucson Citizen 3/9/2005, 3/11/2005, 3/23/2005

Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona

By:  A jury

Date of Crime:  4/1/1988

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Harrod broke into Jeanne Tovrea’s house and shot her five times in the head.  The prosecution believed that Tovrea’s step-son hired Harrod to kill Tovrea for a four million dollar inheritance.  Evidence included a $35,000 payment from Tovrea’s step-son to Harrod and Harrod’s fingerprints in Tovrea’s house.  Harrod was not arrested until 1995 when police matched his fingerprints.  Harrod was convicted and sentenced to death in 1997.  The Arizona Supreme Court upheld his conviction but overturned his death sentence based on the United States Supreme Court’s Ring decision.  In the penalty phase the defense argued that Harrod did not kill for money.  No charges have been brought against Tovrea’s step-son.

Prosecutor(s):  unknown

Defense lawyer(s):  Lynn Burns, Lawrence Matthew

Sources:  Phoenix New Times 10/20/2005 (2005 WLNR 19414801); AP Alert – Arizona 10/27/2005 (10/27/05 APAPLERTAZ 08:36:06).

Sentenced to death in Pima County, Arizona

By:  A jury

Date of Crime:  6/12/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Martinez and his cohort planned to rob Francisco Aguilar of drugs.  Martinez and his cohorts kidnapped, beat, and stuffed Aguilar into the trunk of a car.  After Martinez and his cohorts ransacked Aguilar’s apartment, they drove Aguilar to the desert where they beat him again.  One of Martinez’s cohort stabbed Aguilar in the abdomen.  Aguilar pleaded for his life but Martinez told him to shut up and then shot Aguilar twice.  Aguilar’s body was covered with a mattress and set on fire.  An officer went to investigate the smoke and pulled over Martinez and his cohorts close to the area where the smoke was coming from.  Martinez told the officer that he had just been at a barbeque.  The defense argued that one of Martinez’s cohorts could have been the one who shot Aguilar.  During the penalty phase, the defense argued Martinez was raised in an abusive and dysfunctional family, which included a mother who abused drugs and later did drugs with her children.  The defense also argued Martinez’s cohorts sentences ranged from two and a half years to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

Prosecutor(s):  Teresa Godoy

Defense lawyer(s):  Chris Kimminau, Richard Parrish

Sources:  Arizona Daily Star 11/5/2005 (2005 WLNR 18918417), 11/10/2005 (2005 WLNR 19265547), 11/16/2005 (2005 WLNR 19467384), 11/19/2005 (2005 WLNR 19671484), 12/17/2005 (2005 WLNR 22471348).

Sentenced to death in Maricopa County, Arizona

By:  A jury

Date of Crime:  1987

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  McCray raped and strangled 23-year-old Chestene “Tina” Ramsey Cummins.  McCray was serving an 18-year prison sentence for a 1992 sexual assault and kidnapping when DNA from the murder of Cummins was matched to McCray.  McCray had also been convicted of rape in 1980.

Prosecutor(s):  unknown

Defense lawyer(s):  unknown

Sources:  The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) 11/7/2001, 12/11/2005, 12/15/2005 LEXIS USPAPR file; The Arizona Republic 11/30/2005 (www.azcentral.com).

Sentenced to death in Maricipa County, Arizona

By:  A jury

Date of Crime:  9/2002 – 4/2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Over seven months, Morris lured five women to his camper, including three prostitutes, a developmentally disabled woman, and a friend.  Morris strangled the women during sex and kept their decomposing bodies on the floor of his camper where he continued to have sex with their corpses.  Morris eventually disposed of their badly decomposing bodies in an alley.  Morris was caught when his uncle investigated the smell and swarm of flies around Morris’ camper.  Morris’ final victim was lying on the floor of the camper.  The prosecution presented DNA evidence which linked Morris to each of the bodies.  The defense argued the murders were not premeditated.  Morris was also suspected in another murder but was never charged.

Prosecutor(s):  Juan Martinez

Defense lawyer(s):  James Logan

Sources:  Arizona Republic 7/12/2005 (2005 WLNR 10955801), 7/15/2005 (2005 WLNR 13374569), 7/22/2005 (2005 WLNR 13901681).

Sentenced to death in Pima County, Arizona

By: A jury

Date of crime: 2/1/1984

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Wallace was angry with his girlfriend, Susan Insalaco, after she threw him out of the house for drinking too much. Instead of leaving, Wallace waited for Insalaco and her children, 16-year-old Anna Monzon and 12-year-old Gabe Monzon, to come home. Wallace then beat the family to death with a baseball bat and pipe wrench. The next day he turned himself in to police and confessed to the murders. Wallace pled guilty and was sentenced to death by a judge. The appellate court reversed his sentence two times. In the penalty phase the defense presented evidence of Wallace’s childhood which included an insane mother and an alcoholic father. The defense also argued that long term drug and alcohol abuse by Wallace damaged his brain.

Prosecutor(s): Teresa Godoy

Defense Lawyer(s): Eric Larsen, Jill Thorpe

Sources: Tucson Citizen 3/18/2004 (2004 WLNR 16331762), 3/23/2005 (2005 WLNR 4628323), 4/7/2005 (2005 WLNR 5565908), 4/8/2005 (2005 WLNR 5636953); Arizona Daily Star 4/8/2005 (2005 WLNR 6583027), 4/8/2005 (2005 WLNR 6583027).