Edgar Baltazar Garcia – Latino, age 27 (see also Mark Isaac Snarr, below)
Sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Government
By: a jury
Date of crime: November 28, 2007
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Prisoners Garcia and Michael Isaac Snarr overtook and stabbed DeWight Baloney and another correctional officer. They used the officer’s keys to open the cell of a third inmate, Gabriel Rhone (age 31), who they stabbed 50 times until dead. Defense attorneys stated the motive behind the crime was Rhone (who they claimed was mentally ill) announcing days before that upon his release he intended to attack and impregnate the mother and sister of Snarr. The defense described the prison culture to be one that demands inmates respect each other and that Snarr and Garcia would’ve been in grave danger from other inmates had they let the insults go unchallenged. They also described Rhone as the aggressor, who had shown escalating bizarre and violent behavior, and as being one of the more dangerous inmates in the prison causing Snarr and Garcia to act in preemptive self-defense. The prosecution described the murder as a “planned, deliberate, premeditated killing” and that Garcia and Snarr showed pride and a sense of accomplishment for pulling off the killing as they had planned.
Sources: The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/4/10 (2010 WLNR 9227514), The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/5/10 (2010 WLNR 9629126).
By: a jury
Date of crime: November 28, 2007
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Prisoners Garcia and Michael Isaac Snarr overtook and stabbed DeWight Baloney and another correctional officer. They used the officer’s keys to open the cell of a third inmate, Gabriel Rhone (age 31), who they stabbed 50 times until dead. Defense attorneys stated the motive behind the crime was Rhone (who they claimed was mentally ill) announcing days before that upon his release he intended to attack and impregnate the mother and sister of Snarr. The defense described the prison culture to be one that demands inmates respect each other and that Snarr and Garcia would’ve been in grave danger from other inmates had they let the insults go unchallenged. They also described Rhone as the aggressor, who had shown escalating bizarre and violent behavior, and as being one of the more dangerous inmates in the prison causing Snarr and Garcia to act in preemptive self-defense. The prosecution described the murder as a “planned, deliberate, premeditated killing” and that Garcia and Snarr showed pride and a sense of accomplishment for pulling off the killing as they had planned.
Sources: The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/4/10 (2010 WLNR 9227514), The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/5/10 (2010 WLNR 9629126).
Mark Isaac Snarr – White, age 31 (see also Edgar Baltazar Garcia, above)
Sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Government
By: a jury
Date of crime: November 28, 2007
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Prisoners Snarr and Edgar Baltazar Garcia overtook and stabbed DeWight Baloney and another correctional officer. They used the officer’s keys to open the cell of a third inmate, Gabriel Rhone (age 31), who they stabbed 50 times until dead. Defense attorneys stated the motive behind the crime was Rhone (who they claimed was mentally ill) announcing days before that upon his release he intended to attack and impregnate the mother and sister of Snarr. The defense described the prison culture to be one that demands inmates respect each other and that Snarr and Garcia would’ve been in grave danger from other inmates had they let the insults go unchallenged. They also described Rhone as the aggressor, who had shown escalating bizarre and violent behavior, and as being one of the more dangerous inmates in the prison causing Snarr and Garcia to act in preemptive self-defense. The prosecution described the murder as a “planned, deliberate, premeditated killing” and that Garcia and Snarr showed pride and a sense of accomplishment for pulling off the killing as they had planned.
Sources: The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/4/10 (2010 WLNR 9227514), The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/5/10 (2010 WLNR 9629126).
By: a jury
Date of crime: November 28, 2007
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Prisoners Snarr and Edgar Baltazar Garcia overtook and stabbed DeWight Baloney and another correctional officer. They used the officer’s keys to open the cell of a third inmate, Gabriel Rhone (age 31), who they stabbed 50 times until dead. Defense attorneys stated the motive behind the crime was Rhone (who they claimed was mentally ill) announcing days before that upon his release he intended to attack and impregnate the mother and sister of Snarr. The defense described the prison culture to be one that demands inmates respect each other and that Snarr and Garcia would’ve been in grave danger from other inmates had they let the insults go unchallenged. They also described Rhone as the aggressor, who had shown escalating bizarre and violent behavior, and as being one of the more dangerous inmates in the prison causing Snarr and Garcia to act in preemptive self-defense. The prosecution described the murder as a “planned, deliberate, premeditated killing” and that Garcia and Snarr showed pride and a sense of accomplishment for pulling off the killing as they had planned.
Sources: The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/4/10 (2010 WLNR 9227514), The Beaumont Enterprise (TX) 5/5/10 (2010 WLNR 9629126).
Alejandro Umana – Latino, age 22
Sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, U.S. Government
By: a federal jury
Date of crime: December 8, 2007
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Umana was a member/leader of the gang MS-13 and was eating lunch with fellow members the day of the killings. Two brothers, Manuel Garcia Salinas (age 42) and Ruben Garcia Salinas (age 31), who weren’t in the gang, were eating nearby. After an argument about the kind of music playing on the jukebox, Umana opened fire killing them both. Umana’s defense argued the original deal was for him to plead guilty and serve life in prison until federal authorities took over the case and linked Umana to three other murders (Andy Abarca, Jose Herrera, & Gustavo Porras). Umana was also found guilty of conspiracy to extort money from local drug dealers and intimidating witnesses to prevent them from testifying about the three other murders. They claim that under a normal state prosecution Umana would have spent most of his life in prison, but likely not all of it. They claim as part of the federal authorities strategy to create larger national gang prosecution and crackdown on the MS-13 enterprise, they occasionally ask for jurors to enforce the death penalty. Prosecutors argued that Umana showed no remorse or cooperation when he flashed gang signs to intimidate witnesses and tried to smuggle a knife into the courtroom. It was also argued by the prosecution that while incarcerated and awaiting trial, Umana coordinated attempts to kill witnesses and informants. Umana was ultimately convicted of conspiracy to participate in racketeering, two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, two counts of murder resulting from the use of a gun in a violent crime, possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, one count of extortion, and two criminal counts associated with witness tampering or intimidation. To date, Umana is the first MS-13 gang member to be sentenced to death.
Sources: The Charlotte Observer (NC) 4/13/10 (2010 WLNR 7575330), The Greensboro News & Record (NC) 4/13/10 (2010 WLNR 7626045), The Charlotte Observer (NC) 4/20/10 (2010 WLNR 8103363), 7/27/10 AP Alert – NC 17:05:35, The Charlotte Observer (NC) 7/28/10 (2010 WLNR 14950885), The NPR Weekend Edition-Sunday 10/17/10 (2010 WLNR 20793720).
By: a federal jury
Date of crime: December 8, 2007
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Umana was a member/leader of the gang MS-13 and was eating lunch with fellow members the day of the killings. Two brothers, Manuel Garcia Salinas (age 42) and Ruben Garcia Salinas (age 31), who weren’t in the gang, were eating nearby. After an argument about the kind of music playing on the jukebox, Umana opened fire killing them both. Umana’s defense argued the original deal was for him to plead guilty and serve life in prison until federal authorities took over the case and linked Umana to three other murders (Andy Abarca, Jose Herrera, & Gustavo Porras). Umana was also found guilty of conspiracy to extort money from local drug dealers and intimidating witnesses to prevent them from testifying about the three other murders. They claim that under a normal state prosecution Umana would have spent most of his life in prison, but likely not all of it. They claim as part of the federal authorities strategy to create larger national gang prosecution and crackdown on the MS-13 enterprise, they occasionally ask for jurors to enforce the death penalty. Prosecutors argued that Umana showed no remorse or cooperation when he flashed gang signs to intimidate witnesses and tried to smuggle a knife into the courtroom. It was also argued by the prosecution that while incarcerated and awaiting trial, Umana coordinated attempts to kill witnesses and informants. Umana was ultimately convicted of conspiracy to participate in racketeering, two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, two counts of murder resulting from the use of a gun in a violent crime, possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, one count of extortion, and two criminal counts associated with witness tampering or intimidation. To date, Umana is the first MS-13 gang member to be sentenced to death.
Sources: The Charlotte Observer (NC) 4/13/10 (2010 WLNR 7575330), The Greensboro News & Record (NC) 4/13/10 (2010 WLNR 7626045), The Charlotte Observer (NC) 4/20/10 (2010 WLNR 8103363), 7/27/10 AP Alert – NC 17:05:35, The Charlotte Observer (NC) 7/28/10 (2010 WLNR 14950885), The NPR Weekend Edition-Sunday 10/17/10 (2010 WLNR 20793720).