The district court, in turn, evaluated the state court's conclusion that the arguments were proper under the due process standard. Date of Birth: 05/27/75 Rousseau, 855 S.W.2d at 686-87; Felder, 848 S.W.2d at 101; Davis v. State, 782 S.W.2d 211, 221-22 (Tex.Crim.App.1989), cert. TikTok video from Pete Cantu (@petecantu3): "Pulled this out the drafts #fyp #disneyparents #blowthisup". When Cantu looked away, Ertman yelled at him, "Look at me look at me good!". The gang members took Jenny and Elizabeth from the clearing into a wooded area, leaving the juvenile behind, saying he was "too little to watch". In this regard, this point is inadequately briefed and presents nothing for our review. Required fields are marked *. Her body, nude from the waist down, was found by police on January 4, 1993 with her blood-soaked clothing strewn about her. The state trial court denied such relief on June 7, 2006, after it adopted the prosecution's proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Christina noticed that Villareal was bleeding and that Perez had blood on his shirt and asked them what happened. Jenny was strangled with the belt of Sean O'Brien, with two murderers pulling, one on each side, until the belt broke. ", Their battered and decomposing bodies, left to mummify in a wooded field in the relentless heat of Houston's summer, were found four days after they disappeared. 42.18, 8(b)(2), V.A.C.C.P., provision requiring a prisoner serving a life sentence for capital murder to serve 35 calendar years, without consideration of good conduct time, before becoming eligible for parole. This Court recently applied the Ake standard as it relates to a defendant asserting an insanity defense and rejected the notion that a court's expert necessarily fulfills the role of a psychiatric assistant to the indigent accused envisioned by Ake. De Freece v. State, 848 S.W.2d 150, 159 (Tex.Crim.App. ), cert. [Emphasis in original.] On June 24, 1993, Cantu and other members of the Black and White gang met to initiate a new member. I, Sec. Both men apologized for the crime in their last statements. Both expressed regret for their role in the killings. * that appellant threatened a woman and broke a window at her home; Do you think that if Mr. Ertman or Mr. Pena or Mrs. Ertman or Mrs. Pena had come on up on the scene and said to Peter and his gang don't kill that child, don't kill that child, would he have listened? 1339, 113 L.Ed.2d 271 (1991). The testimony of M. Pena consisted of her telling the jury about her family and showing the jury pictures of the victim's sixteenth birthday party. The subsequent boastful statements of the remaining gang members revealed that what then ensued was a brutal gang rape of both girls. The victims' families attended the execution, but no one attended on his behalf. Point of error thirty-four is overruled. This led to the discovery of the girls' bodies, which were rapidly decomposing in Houston's sweltering summer heat. See 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. However, his request for a mistrial was thereafter denied. Fourteen-year-old Venancio watched as the others raped both girls until Cantu told him that he should get some. The girls were still being raped when Cantu whispered to Venancio, Were going to have to kill them. When everyone was finished, Cantu told them to take the girls into the woods where they proceeded to strangle them. Very brutal, very slow, tortured, a senseless killing. They didn't have the luxury of having anybody intervene for them, and he wants you to don't kill this child. 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. (Aug. 17, 2010, 10:41PM). Pete will be remembered for his infectious laugh and loving personality. ), cert. They were kicked, teeth knocked out and hair pulled out and ribs broken. Point four likewise claims reversible error in denying him the right to question prospective jurors about their ability to consider the 35-year minimum calendar years he would have to serve on a life sentence before becoming parole eligible. [WITNESS:] Yes. 946, 952 (5th Cir.2004) (emphasis added); cf. Appellant's argument is purely based on statistical studies allegedly showing that, in Texas, the death penalty is more likely to be assessed when the victim is white than when the victim is a member of a racial minority. Furthermore, any error, assuming there was error, was harmless. "They are still behind us. 2216 91st St, Lubbock, TX 79423 921 Adrian St, Lubbock, TX 79403 2311 49th St, Lubbock, TX 79412. And 17 years later he died not soon enough. The juvenile, Venancio Medellin, pled guilty to his charge and his sentence was reviewed when he turned 18, at which time he was sent to serve the remainder of the sentence in prison. 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. The medical examiner testified that Elizabeth's two front teeth were knocked out of her brutalized mouth before she died and that two of Jennifer's ribs were broken after she had died. Rule App. The sixth was convicted as a juvenile and is serving a 40-year prison term. denied, 506 U.S. 999, 113 S.Ct. Rousseau v. State, 855 S.W.2d 666 (Tex.Crim.App. Eye Color: Brown "Put it this way: I wish my daughter could have died the way he died today. We deny a COA on this issue. The same objection was lodged with regard to the testimony of Joe Cantu. Id. Evidence showed Cantu kicked one of the girls in the face with his steel-toed boot. Some of the girls' jewelry was recovered from his bedroom. In his twenty-fifth point of error, appellant complains that the death penalty statute is unconstitutional as applied to him in that it failed to narrow the sentencer's discretion as a result of the deletion of the deliberateness issue. These girls went through an awful lot of pain when they died," said Adolfo Pena, father of Elizabeth. That's what they're doing; they're arguing nothing. Next, the older boys raped the two girls for about an hour while Venancio watched. * * * Point of error thirty-two is overruled. Johnson, supra, at 135. ] (emphasis added). 1127, 127 L.Ed.2d 435 (1994), in support of his argument that capital punishment is violative of the United States Constitution. They were forced to perform oral sex. One of the deputies exited his vehicle and chased after Cantu, who then doubled back to the deputy's vehicle and drove off into Comal County. He contends in his twenty-sixth point of error that the scheme is unconstitutional as applied in that it fails to channel the sentencer's discretion. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 26.05(a) provides that counsel shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred with prior court approval for purposes of investigation and expert testimony [. See Article 36.15; Tex.R.App. At one point, Cantu kicked Ms. Pena in the face with his steel-toed boot. on Specifically, appellant requested the following instructions: Jester Park. Peter Cantu confessed to the murders at the time of his arrest. The gang then drank beer and engaged in horseplay. 84 Lumber. The group then headed towards some nearby railroad tracks. ), cert. A belt of the same type that was used to kill Jennifer Ertman was found underneath Patricia's neck. Citations: Moore v. State, 935 S.W.2d 124, 130 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). During its jury argument at punishment, the State did not even mention her testimony, much less emphasize it. As such, we note only that informing the jury of their failure to agree on the answer to a special issue is expressly forbidden by Article 37.071 2(a). At this point, Roman and Frank Sandoval decided to leave. For the foregoing reasons, Cantu's application for a COA is DENIED. The police were then able to find the badly decomposed remains of Ms. Ertman and Ms. Pena. 3230, 106 L.Ed.2d 578 (1989). When the rapes finally ended, the horror was not over. 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. Specifically, he alleges that denying jurors the knowledge that appellant would have to serve at least 35 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole if sentenced to life in prison results in the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, 10, 13, and 19 of the Texas Constitution. The police searched the park without finding anything. Banda v. State, 890 S.W.2d 42, 54 (Tex.Crim.App.1994), cert. Thus, this evidence is admissible under Texas Criminal Evidence Rule 401. Counsel for Defendant D&W Painting, Inc. Richard H. Grafton T. Mark Rogstad Paul Byron Starr WRIGHT & GREENHILL, P.C. 2382, 65 L.Ed.2d 392 (1980). Every memory left on the online obituary will be automatically included in the book. He then notes that the Texas Constitution proscribes cruel or unusual punishments while the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. We have previously rejected this argument. Texas Metal Season 3: Premiere Date, Cast, Trailer, Host & News. VICTORIA John M. Cantu Sr., 69 years of age, passed away Saturday May 29, 2021 at 10:40pm. In related point of error twenty-four, appellant claims that the trial court erred in not including in the punishment charge special verdict forms listing the elements of each unadjudicated offense admitted by the State. 81(b)(2); Harris v. State, 790 S.W.2d 568, 587-588 (Tex.Crim.App.1989); Smith v. State, 919 S.W.2d 96, 102-03 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). Appellant asserts in his forty-first point of error that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires this Court to engage in proportionality reviews of death penalty cases. Johnson v. State, 604 S.W.2d 128, 135 (Tex.Crim.App.1980) (panel op.). Cantu allegedly bragged to friends and family about being the ringleader of the incident, and he paid for it with his life. 22 posts. Retrieved June 3, 2022. This means that the new member was required to fight every member of the gang until he passed out and then he would be accepted as a member. Pena, however is not the victim for whose death appellant has been indicted and tried, and Payne does not contemplate admission of such evidence as permissible under the Eighth Amendment. They had spent the evening drinking beer and then "jumping in" Raul. Point of error twenty-nine is overruled. Four days after the girls disappeared, a person identifying himself as 'Gonzalez' called the Crimestoppers Tips number. If the defendant refuses to plead, the plea of not guilty shall be entered for him by the court. 400, 413-14 (5th Cir.2006); O'Brien v. Dretke, 156 Fed.Appx. In 1946, Pete initially started as a messenger boy for Western Union. Building Materials. Profile. See Johnson v. Puckett, 930 F.2d 445, 448 (5th Cir.1991) (We have repeatedly held that a contention not raised by a habeas petitioner in the district court cannot be considered for the first time on appeal from that court's denial of habeas relief.). The murders of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman affected Houston deeply. Raul Omar Villareal and Efrain Perez were sentenced to death, but following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 ruling that executing criminals who were not yet 18 at the time of their crimes is unconstitutional, their sentences were commuted to life. 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. On June 24, 1993, the group was conducting a fight-filled initiation ceremony for a prospective member across from T.C. Other cast members of the show are Spot and John. In the first statement, Cantu only admitted his role in raping and stealing from the girls, but he was silent as to their murder. THE COURT: Overruled. Rosary for Mr. Cantu Sr., 86, of Abernathy, Texas, will be. 1. Randy commandeered the news van and went to the scene that was now bustling with police activity. Johnson v. State, 803 S.W.2d 272, 292 (Tex.Crim.App.1990), cert. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping. This time, it will be the lethal injection on Tuesday of Peter Anthony Cantu, the leader of the five young men who were sentenced to die for the June 1993 murders of 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena. A visitation will be held from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM with a Holy Rosary to be recited at 11:00 AM on Monday, February 21, 2022 at Holmgreen Mortuary, 2061 E. Main St., Alice, TX. Failure To Object To Prosecution's Argument. The district court determined that this conclusion was not an unreasonable application of federal law. Tuesday, August 10, 2010 It is clear that the excerpt from the letter was admissible to show the witness' strong bias in favor of appellant. The five killers were tried for capital murder in Harris County, Texas, convicted and sentenced to death. He was born in Luckenbach, Texas on November 28, 1946, to Pablo and Patricina (Arizola) Cantu. Finally and in the alternative, the district court determined that there was no reasonable probability of a different result had Cantu's counsel raised a due process objection to the photographs because other sources of evidence painted a vivid image of Cantu's brutality and otherwise amply supported a finding that Cantu committed capital murder. Appellant does not here argue that the extraneous offenses should not have been admitted. 2950, 49 L.Ed.2d 929 (1976), except to incorporate the dictates of Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. He. Ertman got away, but Medellin grabbed Pena and dragged her down off the hill. We likewise decline to undertake such a review in the instant case. FN6. Condolences for the family may be offered at www.holmgreenmortuaryinc.com and shared via Holmgreen Mortuary Facebook. She was born February 8, 1918 to Dallas and Daisy Johnson. Unfortunately, he revealed on Instagram . 52(a); Janecka v. State, 823 S.W.2d 232, 243-244 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). FN8. Weight: 135. The district court recognized that the prosecution's arguments were harsh, but it concluded that the arguments did not render the trial fundamentally unfair. For more information about Border Patrol's Head of the Class Program or Youth of the Year Scholarship, please contact Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Pete Cantu at 956-289-5686. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. Cantu, the first of five to be tried, convicted and condemned, will be the last to be executed. In the portion of the prosecution's argument that Cantu challenges, the prosecution stated: Specifically, appellant wanted to ask veniremembers if they could hold the State to the burden of proof of beyond a reasonable doubt. Seventeen years after taking part in one of the most heinous crimes in Houston history, Peter Cantu was executed tonight in Huntsville. 1997). Valerie Nicole is the only woman working at Ekstensive Metal Works, and needless to say, she is enjoying her work. It's not lost on him that Cantu has lived in prison longer than Jennifer and Elizabeth were alive. denied, 513 U.S. 1157, 115 S.Ct. Sound rental, Band booking, Guitar and Bass lessons. "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. ), cert. In instances where mitigating evidence is presented, all that is constitutionally required is a vehicle by which the jury can consider and give effect to the mitigating evidence relevant to a defendant's background, character, or the circumstances of the crime. As the evidence previously set out illustrates, appellant was the self-appointed leader of this gang. His own statement to a co-defendant expressly showed that he intended that the girls be killed, and testimony as to appellant's actions revealed his active participation in the killings. THE COURT: Yes, sir. 2458, 104 L.Ed.2d 1013 (1989); Harris v. State, 827 S.W.2d 949, 962 (Tex.Crim.App. The families hope to keep him in jail for his entire sentence, of which he has served almost half. ), cert. 2597, 115 L.Ed.2d 720 (1991). Peter Anthony Cantu is a 35 year old Hispanic male, scheduled to be executed on August 17th in Texas. The police traced the 9-1-1 call to Cantu's home. original sound - Pete Cantu. es una historia oral de la comunidad catlica romana mexicana y mexicoamericana que lleg a habitar una llanura aluvial en el este de Austin, despus de su desplazamiento del centro de Austin hace ms de un siglo. Police traced the 911 call to the Cantu home, and Joe passed on what he knew. Focus for the victims' families now turns to the remaining three killers. Pete Cantu. 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. Mental or physical incapacity caused by intoxication means that the defendant's mental capacity was so disturbed from the introduction of a substance into his body that the defendant either did not know that his conduct was wrong or was incapable of conforming his conduct to the requirements [sic] of the law he allegedly violated. Extraneous offenses are only a portion of the evidence a jury is allowed to consider. Thus, we do not consider the argument on appeal. There might be a fact and circumstance out there that just cries out for mercy, cries out for you to give the person some leniency and not give them the death penalty,. Keep that in mind when you think in terms of what is it that really compels our mercy and do you see it in this case? When the police questioned 'Gonzalez', he said that he had made the original call at his 16 year-old wife's urging. Tuilaepa v. California, 512 U.S. 967, 979-80, 114 S.Ct. Appellant further 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. While Jenny and Elizabeth were living the last few hours of their lives, Peter Cantu, Efrain Perez, Derrick Sean O'Brien, Joe Medellin and Joe's 14 year old brother were initiating a new member, Raul Villareal, into their gang, known as the Black and Whites. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children or the charity of your choice. 2765, 129 L.Ed.2d 879 (1994); McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 107 S.Ct. Appellant concedes that there is no requirement that all statutory elements be proven before evidence of an extraneous offense can be admitted at punishment. Read more about the life story of Pete and share your memory. However, we reaffirmed the original holding on appeal. He was frustrated that he had been the one who was unable to fight Raul. "I told him to stick it. You are further instructed that if there is any testimony before you in this case regarding the defendant's having committed offenses other than the offense alleged against him in the indictment, you cannot consider said testimony for any purpose unless you find and believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed such other offenses, if any were committed, and even then you may only consider the same in determining the answers to the special issues. Though some of the assailants had little previous brushes with the law, Cantu by the age of 18 had given plenty of indication he was headed for trouble. They were friends who attended the same high school in Houston, Texas, Waltrip High School. Roland Gonzales is suspected of stealing more than $100 worth of steak from H-E-B. If you decide that an aspect of the Defendant's character and record or circumstances of the crime is a mitigating circumstance, you must not give it aggravating effect. Mines v. State, 888 S.W.2d 816 (Tex.Crim.App.1994), cert. We hold this requisite to be applicable to non-psychiatric experts as well. All data is collected from public records. I also dissent to the discussion of points one through four involving not allowing the jury to be informed that if sentenced to life appellant was statutorily mandatorily required to serve 35 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. art. The best result we found for your search is Peter Cantu age 70s in Austin, TX in the Gracywoods neighborhood. ), cert. For 24 years, Metal Depot has been serving Southeast Texas with the best quality metal materials for commercial, industrial, and residential needs. Point of error thirty-one is overruled. To begin, we note that the only evidence that appellant specifically complains about on appeal is the testimony of Pena's mother at the punishment phase of trial. One of the gang members later said during the brag session that by the time he got to one of the girls, "she was loose and sloppy." denied, 499 U.S. 932, 111 S.Ct. Thus, we turn to an analysis of whether the second prong of the test is met for any of the requested lesser included offenses. See Tucker v. State, 771 S.W.2d 523, 535 n. 5 (Tex.Crim.App.1988), cert. (Citing Armstrong v. State, 718 S.W.2d 686, 697 (Tex.Crim.App.1985)). Jose Medellin was executed in August 2008. 801(e)(2)(B), as appellant, by his actions and responses, readily agreed with them. This is not to say, of course, that the indigent defendant has a constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own. Ayesha Gani. See Tucker v. State, 771 S.W.2d 523, 533-34 (Tex.Crim.App.1988), cert. I'm not going to show it to you. 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. Do we kill our children when you know they needed help, when you know they're a problem, when you know there are problems? Two are serving life sentences after having their death sentences commuted because they were juveniles at the time of the murders. The lethal injection was started, and he was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. "Cantu executed for 1993 deaths of Houston teens," by Mike Tolson. Because appellant did not specify at trial which complaint he was asserting, his objection was not sufficiently specific to preserve review on appeal. 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. Defendant was convicted upon jury verdict in the District Court, Harris County, William Harmon, J., of capital murder and was sentenced to death. Other than reurging his assertion that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance for failing to object to the prosecution's argument, Cantu raises no additional argument in his petition for COA. Penal Code 8.04, the trial court submitted the following instruction to the jury in the punishment charge: Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed in July 2006. A memorial was erected to them at Waltrip High School, which they attended. ), cert. Funeral services for Mr. Pedro Pete Cantu were held on Monday, February 3rd at 1:00 P.M. in the chapel of the Schaetter Funeral Home, Fredericksburg. 313, 126 L.Ed.2d 260 (1993); Green v. State, 912 S.W.2d 189, 193-94 (Tex.Crim.App.1995) cert. Is there a connection between what they try to give to you as mitigation, is there some connection between that and the crime itself, when you think of what you discovered to possibly be mitigating. However, he does contend the evidence is insufficient to support the jury's affirmative answer to the special issue on future dangerousness. Owner at Last Note Productions. In his thirty-fifth point of error, appellant complains that the trial court erred in failing to give the jury instructions on the lesser-included offenses of murder, sexual assault, robbery, and kidnapping. 55 (5th Cir. Id. Especially the white chick, she looked good, huh, Junior? We hold that the same analysis applies to the new statute and appellant has given us no reason to revisit this issue.
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