|
Post by Charlene on Mar 7, 2010 8:31:07 GMT -6
The execution is scheduled for March 11.
Case history: On September 10th, 11th, and 12th of 2000, Joshua Maxwell and his girlfriend, Tessie McFarland, confined Robby Bott, stole property from Bott’s residence, forced Bott to buy items for them at a Meijer store, killed Bott by shooting him in the face and strangling him, put him in the trunk of his own car, and set Bott and his car on fire. Bott's body was found in Marion County, Indiana, on September 12, 2000. His badly charred body was inside the trunk of his Mercury Cougar automobile, which had been set on fire. He had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his chest, and his hands and feet had been bound together behind his back. The medical examiner did not recover a bullet from Bott's body during the autopsy. When police arrived at Bott's residence in Mooresville, Indiana, they discovered that the back door was open and the house was in disarray. Maxwell's fingerprints matched the fingerprints on a vodka bottle and a wine bottle in the kitchen. McFarland's fingerprints matched the fingerprints on the refrigerator door, a videotape, and a pizza box. A pizza delivery slip found in Bott's bedroom contained Maxwell's name and the address of a house in nearby Indianapolis where Maxwell had been staying with McFarland. Police searched the house in Indianapolis and found several items belonging to Bott, including his wallet, various forms of identification, credit cards, and bank statements. Maxwell's fingerprints matched the fingerprints on a sales receipt in Bott's wallet. Substances that appeared to be blood and vomit trailed from the basement to the outside of the Indianapolis residence. The basement smelled strongly of chemicals and contained some empty gallon jugs of muriatic acid. A spent cartridge casing was recovered from an overturned wooden wardrobe cabinet in the basement. A spent bullet was recovered from a sweater inside the wardrobe cabinet. A firearms examiner testified that the gun that fired the spent bullet and spent cartridge casing was the same gun that was used to kill Lopes in this case. Maxwell, Bott, and a female were seen shopping at two retail stores in the Indianapolis area at 11:30 p.m. on September 10 and at 5:00 a.m. on September 11. Bott used his credit card to purchase approximately $2500 of merchandise at the first store. When the night manager commented that they were buying an unusually large amount of merchandise at that time of night, Maxwell explained that he and the female were getting married and that Bott was his uncle and was buying them the merchandise as a wedding gift. Bott made a credit card purchase of approximately $1100 at the second store, where the threesome were recorded on the store's security surveillance camera. At approximately 6:00 a.m. on September 11, a man was recorded on videotape making withdrawals with Bott's ATM card at a nearby Bank One ATM terminal. He made two withdrawals, and his attempt to withdraw more money was declined because it exceeded the daily limit. The couple fled to Texas after murdering Bott. Rudolfo Lopes, a sergeant with the Bexar County, Texas Sheriff's Department, was murdered in San Antonio on or about October 11, 2000. San Antonio resident Robert Brown encountered Maxwell and Tess McFarland prior to Lopes's murder. Brown met Maxwell, who went by the name "Mo," and McFarland, who went by the name "Trina," by responding to their ad on a "dating telephone line" advertised in a magazine. The first time Maxwell and McFarland came to Brown's apartment, they talked for about an hour and Brown gave them money to buy food. Brown testified that they stole some rings from him at that time. Two or three days later, Maxwell and McFarland told Brown that they were in town for a friend's wedding and needed a place to stay overnight. They spent the night at Brown's apartment and gave him a ride to a liquor store the next day. Brown testified that they had a gray three-door vehicle with Florida license plates. He further testified that the car was dirty and filthy-smelling, and that there was a container in the car with a chameleon lizard inside it. Brown let them use his phone before they left that afternoon. After they left, a man called asking for "Mo" and "Trina." Lopes's wife testified that Lopes was scheduled to work at the Bexar County Jail from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on October 11. Lopes left for work that morning in his gold four-door Chevrolet pickup truck, but he never returned home that night. Lopes often carried a briefcase and wore a gold chain necklace with a cross and anchor pendant. Lopes normally carried a Glock pistol issued by the Sheriff's Department. An investigations officer with the Security Service Federal Credit Union testified that Lopes had a checking account, a savings account, an ATM card, and a Visa card at the credit union. Records show that shortly after 7:00 p.m. on October 11, someone using Lopes's ATM card at the credit union's Southwest Military Branch made two successful withdrawals of $300 and $100. The person using the card attempted to withdraw more money from Lopes's checking and savings accounts, but the transactions were denied. A surveillance camera photographed a woman leaning out of the driver's side of a vehicle using the ATM. Charles Dudley, the owner of a martial arts school in a northeast San Antonio strip center, testified that he left work with his family about 9:00 p.m. on October 11. They noticed a gold Chevrolet pickup truck driving around to the back of the strip center, so they got into Dudley's car and drove behind the strip center to see what was going on. The truck was parked next to a hole in the privacy fence that separated the strip center from the field behind it. Dudley observed a woman with long, bushy hair and glasses sitting in the driver's seat and a man slumped down in the passenger seat. As Dudley drove by, the man and the woman stared straight ahead. Dudley thought it odd and slowly drove by them a second time and put his headlights on the truck. The man and the woman continued sitting in the truck staring straight ahead. A woman who lived in a residential area behind the strip center testified that she and her husband were watching the Presidential Debate on the evening of October 11. She heard one loud gunshot between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. Lopes's body was discovered in the field behind the strip center on October 12. He was blindfolded and was lying face down with his arms inside his shirt and his hands bound together. There was a white cotton cord tied around one of his wrists, and both wrists were tightly bound together with a clear telephone cord. Police found a spent shell casing on the ground near Lopes's body. Maxwell and McFarland then fled to California. A security guard at the Windsor Park Mall in San Antonio first ticketed a gray Chevrolet Corsica with Florida license plates for overnight parking at 4:15 a.m. on October 12. The abandoned vehicle continued to receive parking tickets until it was reported to police on October 15. Police discovered that the vehicle identification number and the license plate did not match and that the vehicle was "flagged" from out of state in reference to another homicide case. Inside the car were letters containing references to Maxwell and McFarland, a package of cigarettes, photographs of McFarland and Maxwell, a "Scotsman Inn" hotel receipt with the name "Trina Dorris," and a dead lizard. At 4:40 p.m. on October 17, police officers Joseph Juarez and Jesus Pena were on duty in downtown San Francisco, California, when they saw a gold pickup truck speed through an intersection and almost hit a pedestrian. The officers stopped the truck, exited their vehicle, approached the truck from the rear, and asked the male driver to turn off his engine. The driver instead drove away and led them on a chase through downtown San Francisco. Halfway through the chase, the driver of the truck shot at them. The bullet hit the officers' windshield and came within inches of striking Officer Juarez. Glass from the windshield sprayed the inside of the police car and scratched Officer Pena's eyes. Additional police officers became involved in the chase. The driver continued shooting at police and the police returned fire. Officer Richard Seidell testified that at one point the driver "reached out with his left arm and hand and raised his middle finger and flipped us off." The chase finally ended when the truck became stuck in traffic. The truck was identified as Lopes's vehicle. The driver and passenger of the truck were identified as Maxwell and McFarland. McFarland suffered a neck injury during the chase. Maxwell was wearing a gold-chain necklace when he was apprehended. The police searched the truck and found Lopes's badge, Lopes's credit card from the Security Federal Credit Union, and a State of Indiana identification card for "Trina Dorris" with McFarland's picture. Police also found in the truck, Lopes's Glock pistol, a Chinese 9-millimeter pistol, and a briefcase in the truck. The medical examiner who performed Lopes's autopsy testified that his death was caused by a single gunshot wound to the top of his head. The 9-millimeter bullet entered the top of Lopes's head, exited his chin, re-entered his body through his chest, and lodged between his sternum and his heart. A firearms examiner testified that the Chinese 9-millimeter pistol found in Lopes's truck was the weapon that fired the bullet that was recovered from Lopes's chest and the shell casing that was found near his body. Detention officers Calvin Robinson and Wendell Busby testified about an incident involving Maxwell while he was in the Bexar County Jail awaiting trial. Robinson testified that Maxwell was banging on his cell door at about 6:10 p.m. on September 1, 2001. Maxwell told Robinson he was upset about not receiving his account balance earlier that day. When Robinson told Maxwell he would get his account balance for him later, Maxwell became more upset and began banging on the door even harder. Maxwell called Robinson a "black, mother-*f---ing* *deleted*" and said that he would "bust [Robinson's] face if he could get out of his cell." He also said "if he could get out of that cell, he'd kill [Robinson], just like he had killed [his] home boy, Lopes." Robinson told Maxwell to calm down and went back into the office where Busby was located. Maxwell, using a "pleading-type of voice," then mimicked how Lopes had begged for his life, stating repeatedly, "Please don't kill me." Maxwell used a stronger, higher, and more authoritarian voice when he described his response: "Shut up, *bi+ch* . . . I'm going to kill you anyway." Busby's testimony confirmed Robinson's version of events. Busby added that another inmate yelled something at Maxwell after Maxwell mimicked Lopes, and Maxwell replied, "I don't care what I said." Both Robinson and Busby denied doing anything to provoke Maxwell. Defense witness Sergeant David Ryker testified that he investigated the incident at the Bexar County Jail on September 1. Maxwell made no mention of Lopes and told Ryker that Robinson was harassing him. Defense counsel also called an evidence technician with the San Antonio Police Department who testified that there was never a comparison made on a plaster shoe cast of a footprint taken at the crime scene on October 12, 2000. Finally, Bexar County Deputy Sheriff Daniel Grasser testified that he could not locate the shoes that Maxwell was wearing when he was arrested in San Francisco. The Bexar County, Texas jury convicted Joshua Maxwell, of killing Rudolfo Lopes in the course of committing a robbery or kidnapping. Pursuant to the jury's answers to the special issues questions regarding future dangerousness and mitigation, the trial court sentenced Maxwell to death. Bott Murder Evidence: On October 17, 2000, police in San Francisco attempted to conduct a routine traffic stop of Maxwell and McFarland because their car had run a red light. A vehicle chase ensued, shots were fired, and Maxwell eventually crashed the car. McFarland was shot, and Maxwell sustained a one-and-a-half by two inch abrasion on the side of his forehead. Inside their vehicle, police discovered a 9 mm firearm. When police searched Lopes's truck after Maxwell and McFarland were captured in California, they found a map with a route drawn from Indiana to Florida to Texas to California. Police also found a videotape that depicted Maxwell admitting his involvement in a murder. Maxwell explained on the videotape that he forced a man to take him on a shopping spree, stole items from his house, killed him, put him in his car, and burned him. Police took Maxwell to the station. Inspector Kelly Carroll of the San Francisco Police Department informed Maxwell he would stay with Maxwell until the other inspectors arrived for an interview. Carroll offered Maxwell a soda or water. Paramedics treated the small abrasion on his Maxwell’s face from the crash, and then they left. During the time they waited, Inspector Carroll and Maxwell had a short conversation, but Carroll did not question Maxwell regarding the alleged crimes. Thereafter, Inspector Tony Camilleri of the San Francisco Police Department arrived and advised Maxwell of his Miranda rights. Maxwell did not appear intoxicated, and he appeared to understand his rights. Maxwell agreed to speak with the officers and gave a taped interview. In the interview Maxwell admitted purchasing merchandise with Bott’s credit cards, stealing from Bott, confining Bott, shooting Bott in the head, killing Bott, and setting Bott’s body on fire. Less than two hours later, Maxwell gave a second videotaped confession to Inspector Casillas of the San Francisco Police Department. This confession was essentially the same as the first. Then, about two hours after the second confession, Maxwell discussed the case via speaker phone with Captain Joel Rush of the Speedway, Indiana, Police Department. Maxwell detailed the crimes he committed against Bott, and San Francisco police videotaped this confession as well. The State charged Maxwell with murder, confinement, arson, and theft. Maxwell filed a motion to suppress the videotaped confessions, and the trial court denied that motion. At trial, the State offered as evidence the three videotapes of Maxwell confessing. Over Maxwell’s objection, the court admitted the videotapes. The jury found Maxwell guilty as charged. The court sentenced Maxwell to sixty-five years for murder, three years for confinement, twenty years for arson, and three years for theft. It then ordered all those sentences served consecutively.
|