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Thursday, June 12, 2008
Testimony: Drinking game, sexual advances preceded stabbing death
Damon Lavelle Asberry sexually assaulted his 17-year-old neighbor in Groesbeck four years ago and had a 10-year homosexual relationship with a Groesbeck man that started when the man was 14, both men testified this afternoon during the punishment phase of Asberry’s murder trial.
A 54th State District Court jury of six women and six men deliberated about two hours today before convicting 32-year-old Asberry of murder in the May 2003 stabbing death of Bryan Aaron Daugherty, a 19-year-old Round Rock man who met Asberry while both men attended Texas State Technical College in Waco.
Prosecutors Melanie Walker and Edward Vallejo and defense attorney Steve Keathley will give summations Friday morning before jurors consider Asberry’s punishment.
Prosecutors are expected to seek a life prison term for Asberry, who witnesses said plied Daugherty with crack cocaine, drove him to Groesbeck, then sought sexual favors from him in return for the drugs. When Daugherty rejected his sexual advances, the men fought and Asberry stabbed Daugherty in the chest, piercing his lung, and cut his leg.
He dumped the critically injured Daugherty out at the East Crest Apartments near the TSTC main gate about 5 a.m. and drove away while the blood-soaked Daugherty clung to life, witnesses said. Daugherty was unable to tell those who rushed to help him who had stabbed him.
Asberry, who initially informed the court that he wanted to testify, changed his mind today after conferring with Keathley. His mother, a nursing home aide from Groesbeck, testified Wednesday that he was home asleep on her couch when the murder occurred.
In state rebuttal testimony this morning, Christy Kelly, a longtime friend of Asberry, told the jury she played a role in a game Asberry played to lure young men to party with them, giving them liquor and drugs while playing drinking games, then sexually assaulting them after they were too drunk to resist him or had passed out.
She said she and Asberry employed the tactic more than 100 times in the past eight years or so, adding that on at least two occasions she saw Asberry throw unconscious young men over his shoulder and carry them into his mother’s house. He later told them that he had sex with them while they were passed out, she said.
“The whole point of it was to get the guys high and drunk so they could go to Groesbeck and he could take advantage of them,” Kelly said.
When asked by Keathley why she was coming forward now with her story, Kelly said she was driven by guilt.
“I never knew the young man (Daugherty), but I thought if I had said something sooner, this all might not have happened,” she said.
In other prosecution rebuttal testimony, Freddie Gomez, 27, of Houston, said he met Asberry May 14, 2003, about a week before Daugherty was killed, when he brought a check to the TSTC financial aid office, where Asberry was working at the time.
He said Asberry offered to drive him to a bank to cash the check, then asked him if he wanted to take a ride with him to see his hometown of Groesbeck. On the way, they bought some whiskey and smoked marijuana laced with cocaine that Asberry had with him, Gomez said.
They drove around Groesbeck and partied into the night, Gomez said, adding that he was so high that he needed to go lie down before he passed out. Asberry accompanied him to bed at Asberry’s mother’s house and tried to fondle him in bed, Gomez said.
After Gomez rejected him, they got into a shoving match before Asberry went back to bed and started masturbating in front of him, Gomez said. He left the room and caught a ride back to Waco the next morning with Asberry’s brother, he said.
A 24-year-old former Groesbeck man told jurors that he fell for Asberry’s drinking game when he was about 14 and carried on a sexual relationship with him that lasted until last year.
Also, a 22-year-old Fairfield man who lived near Asberry in Groesbeck in May 2004 told jurors that Asberry offered him a ride, then sexually assaulted him, leaving a bite mark on his stomach and bruises on his back, neck and face.
In defense punishment testimony, Janie Asberry pleaded with jurors to show her son compassion.
“My son is really a good person and is loved by many people,” she said. “He is very friendly and nice to everybody. I love him, and I need him.”
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Crane accident at new Dallas Cowboys stadium
One person was in critical condition and the other two were in fair condition after a cable failed during construction at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington, according to this AP report.
The more-than-$1-billion retractable-roof stadium is scheduled to be finished about a year from now and will seat 80,000 people. It also will be home to the 2011 Super Bowl.
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Update: Bicyclist struck by tire in critical condition
A 61-year-old bicyclist is in critical condition at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center after highway authorities say he was struck by a tire that came loose from a vehicle traveling on Interstate 35 today.
Richard Grates was riding his bicycle southbound on the I-35 access road near Craven Avenue, when around 1:30 p.m. he was struck by a tire that flew off a northbound vehicle pulling a boat trailer, said Texas Department of Public Safety Senior Cpl. Charlie Morgan.
Morgan said he was unsure whether the driver of the vehicle had been located, or ticketed.
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6-10 Michigan center transferring to Baylor
Former Michigan center Ekpe Udoh has decided to transfer to Baylor, he has told the Tribune-Herald.
Udoh, who attended Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe High School, picked Baylor over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Arkansas. The 6-10 center will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out next season under NCAA transfer rules.
Udoh made the Big Ten all-defensive team in 2007-08 after averaging six points, five rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.
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Defendant guilty of murder
The jury has found Damon Lavelle Asberry guilty of the murder of Bryan Daugherty.
Jurors deliberated about two hours before rendering their verdict.
For earlier testimony, click here.
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Continental: Cuts won’t affect Waco flights
Waco Regional Airport was spared as Continental Airlines announced major cutbacks in domestic flights beginning in September.
The airline said they will be reducing domestic mainline carrier flights by 11 percent, and will see a 6.4 percent reduction in overall domestic flights, which include contracted carriers, such as Colgan Air, which handles Continental’s Waco flights.
Continental spokesman David Messing said that despite the cuts, none of the flights in or out of Waco Regional Airport will be affected.
Currently, Continental Connection has four flights out of Waco, Monday through Friday, with three on Saturday and Sunday. Likewise, the airline has four arrivals during the week and three on weekends.
— Tim Woods
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Bicyclist on I-35 access road hit by flying tire
A bicyclist riding on the access road of Interstate 35 in Bellmead was hit by a tire that came off a vehicle traveling on the interstate near mile marker 339.
Watch wacotrib.com for updates.
- Emily Ingram
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Supreme Court: Gitmo detainees can challenge cases in civilian courts
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay may challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts, the Associated Press reports.
In its third rebuke of the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners, the court ruled 5-4 that the government is violating the constitutional rights of prisoners being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The court’s liberal justices were in the majority.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said, “The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.”
Kennedy said federal judges could ultimately order some detainees to be released, but that such orders would depend on security concerns and other circumstances.
President Bush was unhappy with the ruling. “We’ll abide by the court’s decision. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with it,” the president said during a press conference in Rome. “It was a deeply divided court, and I strongly agree with those who dissented.”
Bush also said he would consider whether to seek new laws in light of the ruling “so we can safely say to the American people, ‘We’re doing everything we can to protect you.’”
It was not immediately clear whether this ruling, unlike the first two, would lead to prompt hearings for the detainees, some of whom have been held more than 6 years. Roughly 270 men remain at the island prison, classified as enemy combatants and held on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.
The ruling could resurrect many detainee lawsuits that federal judges in Washington put on hold pending the outcome of the high court case. The decision sent judges, law clerks and court administrators scrambling to read Kennedy’s 70-page opinion and figure out how to proceed. Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth said he would call a special meeting of federal judges to address how to handle the cases.
The decision also cast doubt on the future of the military war crimes trials that 19 detainees are facing so far. The Pentagon has said it plans to try as many as 80 men held at Guantanamo.
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UPDATE: TEA chief confident Wiley will improve, keeps campus open
G.L. Wiley Middle School in Waco has received a academic rating of “unacceptable” from the Texas Education Agency for the fifth year in a row but will remain open.
TEA Commissioner Robert Scott informed the Waco Independent School District that he is convinced the school is headed in the right direction and has granted the school another year to reach acceptable status, according to a WISD statement.
If the school fails to meet standards next year, it will be placed under alternative management, as defined by the TEA.
“I don’t see our district letting that happen. I don’t see it getting to that point,” said Wiley principal Kermit Ward.
In a letter to WISD Superintendent Roland Hernandez that will be released at a 4 p.m. press conference at the school, Scott writes that he granted the year waiver “because I believe, with one more year of effort, the campus will raise its rating.”
“I wish to congratulate the students and educators who have worked diligently to improve performance in this campus,” the letter continues.
Wiley students met state requirements in all TAKS tests this year except for eighth-grade science, where a student group fell less than a percentage point short of acceptable levels. However, for a second consecutive year, the school saw gains in other subject areas and grade levels, the statement says.
Hernandez said he is pleased with TEA’s decision.
“It is great to see that Commissioner Scott has noticed the continued improvement at Wiley,” he says in the statement. “I am confident that scores will continue to rise and Wiley will once again be a point of pride in East Waco.”
Four schools in Texas, including Wiley, had been rated “unacceptable” for four years. The state announced recently that two of those schools, Johnston High School in Austin and Sam Houston High School in Houston, were ordered to be closed.
- Wendy Gragg
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UPDATED: Crane to right flipped cement truck at Second Street, La Salle
City workers and fire officials are waiting for a crane to show up this afternoon to right a City of Waco cement mixer that has flipped belly up in culvert near the intersection of Taylor Avenue and South Second Street.
At about 11:15 a.m. this morning, the truck’s operator was standing near the vehicle when it flipped over into a culvert, said assistant fire chief Don Yeager. He said did not know what caused the mixer to turn over.
City spokesman Larry Holze said the crew was at the site to begin repairs on the culvert and the truck had begun mixing up the cement when the vehicle flipped.
Hazardous materials crews have blocked any water flow from the culvert to catch diesel and a small amount of hydraulic fluid that has leaked from the vehicle, which has a 100-gallon fuel tank. South Second Street is blocked off between LaSalle Avenue and just past Taylor Avenue.
A crane will be needed to lift the truck, which weighs 82,000 pounds empty. - Emily Ingram
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Fuel spill at Second Street, La Salle
Firefighters and a hazardous materials team are on the scene at Second Street and La Salle Avenue, where a cement truck has flipped over and is leaking fuel.
Staff reporter Emily Ingram has been told that the gas tank was somehow punctured and began leaking. Second Street is blocked off south of La Salle.
Check back at wacotrib.com for more details as we learn them.
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Trial update: Jury deliberating in murder trial
After 40 minutes of final arguments by prosecutors Melanie Walker and Edward Vallego and defense attorney Steve Keathley, jurors in Waco’s 54th State District Court at noon began deliberating the fate of Damon Lavelle Asberry, who is on trial for murder in the May 2003 death of Bryan Daugherty.
For earlier testimony from today, click here.
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Four-vehicle wreck at 32nd and Franklin
Three people are headed to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center after a four-vehicle accident at 32nd Street and Franklin Avenue.
The accident happened at about 11:30 a.m., according to Waco police officer Heath Mynar. A red Ford F-150 was rear-ended by a blue Ford pickup as she was turning right onto South 32nd Street from Franklin Avenue. A dairy truck and Pontiac Grand Am were waiting at the light on 32nd Street when the red F-150 was shoved into the vehicles.
At one point 32nd Street was shut down and Franklin Avenue had just one lane open in each direction.
Two women initially were trapped in the Grand Am, Mynar said. One was able to get out on her own, but the other woman had be to extricated by firefighters.
Mynar said the driver of the blue pickup that started the chain reaction will be cited for failure to control speed. The officer said that driver wasn’t able to explain what happened. The driver of the red F-150 and the two from the Grand Am were headed to the hospital.
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Update: Man in hospital after bee attack
A Waco man injured after driving his tractor mower over a bee’s nest has been taken to a local hospital.
Connie Joe Allen remains at Providence Health Center in guarded condition, a hospital spokesman said.
Foxworth-Galbraith general manager Michael Newsom said Allen works as a contractor for the company, mowing the company’s vacant lots in the summer.
The company brought a bee specialist to the property after the morning attack, and Newsom said the man had trouble finding the well-hidden nest inside a sewer line manhole.
The beekeeper told Newsom that even if Allen had walked the property before mowing, he probably wouldn’t have seen the nest.
Waco firefighters had to spray Allen down with foam to get the bees off him.
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Tiger off to rough start at U.S. Open
OK, golf fans. If you’re not already following the U.S. Open on the Web somewhere else, like at usopen.com, I can update you quickly with this report from the Associated Press that says Tiger Woods is a bit off the pace through the first four holes.
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G.L. Wiley “unacceptable” for 5th year, but staying open
G.L. Wiley Middle School in Waco has received a academic rating of “unacceptable” from the Texas Education Agency for the fifth year in a row, staff writer Wendy Gragg reports.
Wiley, which was previously threatened with closure, has been given one more year by commissioner of education Robert Scott, to get its test scores up. If the school fails to meet standards next year, it will be placed under alternative management, as defined by the TEA.
“I don’t see our district letting that happen. I don’t see it getting to that point,” said Wiley principal Kermit Ward.
Four schools in Texas, including Wiley, had been rated “unacceptable” for four years. The state announced recently that two of those schools, Johnston High School in Austin and Sam Houston High School in Houston, were ordered to be closed.
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DPS announces Roadcheck results
The Texas Department of Public Safety released the results of its Roadcheck 2008 program to make sure that commercial vehicles on state highways are safe. Here’s the release:
During Roadcheck 2008, which ran from June 3 through June 5, DPS troopers inspected 5,824 commercial vehicles, placing 24.6 percent of them out of service for equipment violations.
During the three-day campaign, 5,824 commercial vehicles were inspected, and 1,435 of the vehicles and 178 of the drivers were found to have serious enough safety violations to be removed from service. Last year, 1,659 vehicles and 259 drivers were placed out of service.
Inspectors placed 122 drivers out of service for hours-of-service violations. Other violations ranged from false log violations to suspended, expired and cancelled licenses and having the improper endorsement. Thirteen drivers were placed out of service for drug or alcohol violations. Troopers issued 11 tickets for seatbelt violations.
Vehicle out-of-service violations included 911 trucks that needed a brake adjustment, 564 that had brake system problems, 173 that had tire or wheel problems and 251 that had light malfunctions.
DPS Commercial Vehicle Enforcement troopers, along with Highway Patrol troopers and other inspectors who have received specialized training in commercial vehicle inspection, stopped commercial vehicles to inspect safety equipment and check driver licenses, endorsements and log books. Troopers also looked for possible drug or alcohol use.
The annual Roadcheck program, which stretches from Mexico to Canada, is designed to reduce commercial vehicle highway fatalities through increased vehicle safety. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which sponsors Roadcheck, reports a significant decrease in the commercial vehicle crash rate in North America since the program’s start in 1988.
Vehicles passing inspection received a CVSA decal exempting the vehicle from inspection for a 90-day period, unless they have an obvious safety defect. Troopers issued 2,054 decals during Roadcheck 2008.
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Texas secretary of state to step down
Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson is stepping down to pursue other opportunities, he announced today.
Wilson said his last day will be July 6. Appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry almost a year ago, he was previously Perry’s deputy chief of staff.
The secretary of state is Texas’ chief elections officer. The secretary of state oversees business and public filings, acts as the governor’s chief liaison for border affairs, and oversees international protocol for the state.
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U.S. retail sales up twice as much as forecast
Retail sales in the United States rose twice as much as forecast in May as Americans used their tax rebates to shop at electronics and department stores, and record gasoline prices swelled service-station receipts.
Purchases climbed 1 percent, the most since November, following a 0.4 percent gain the prior month that was previously reported as a drop, the Commerce Department said in Washington. Purchases excluding gasoline increased 0.8 percent last month.
— Bloomberg News
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Final arguments to begin in Waco murder trial
Final arguments will begin soon in the murder trial of Damon Lavelle Asberry in Waco’s 54th State District Court.
Asberry, 32, is being tried for the May 2003 stabbing death of Texas State Technical College student Bryan Aaron Daugherty. Wednesday’s trial included testimony that Asberry confessed to killing the victim because he spurned his sexual advances.
Prosecution rebuttal testimony this morning included Freddy Gomez, 27, a former TSTC student from Houston who claimed that on May 14, 2003, Asberry tried to fondle him when he was nearly passed out from drugs and alcohol.
The incident happened about a week before the murder of Daugherty. Gomez testified that he met Asberry in the TSTC financial office where the defendant worked. Asberry took Gomez to cash a check and then asked if he wanted to ride out with him to Groesbeck.
At a farm near Groesbeck, Gomez testified that they smoked marijuana-laced cocaine and drank Jack Daniels whiskey to get high.
Nearly passing out, they decided to lie on the bed to rest, Gomez said. At that point, Asberry tried to touch Gomez’s genitals, he said. But Gomez said he refused and a shoving match ensued.
Asberry stopped fighting, but then began masturbating in the bed next to him, so Gomez left for the living room where he remained until Asberry’s brother took him home the next day, he testified.
In other testimony this morning Christy Kelly, a former friend of Asberry, admitted that more than 100 times she served as a pawn to lure men to do drugs and pass out with Asberry, who would then sexually abuse them.
Asberry bragged to her about what he did to the men, she said.
Asberry did not take the stand in his own defense.
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“Grey’s Anatomy” actress declines Emmy nomination
Katherine Heigl isn’t seeking an Emmy nomination this year because “Grey’s Anatomy” failed to provide her with an award-worthy performance, the Associated Press reports.
Heigl, who was honored as best supporting actress in a drama last year for the ABC series, declined to put her name in consideration for a bid, a spokeswoman for the actress said.
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Appeals court upholds Gentry murder conviction
The 10th Court of Appeals in Waco has affirmed the murder conviction of Darlene Gentry in the death of her husband, Keith, in 2005.
An appellate lawyer for Darlene Gentry argued in late April that she should receive a new trial because an incriminating video of her was captured in violation of her rights. The court upheld the conviction Wednesday, according to the court’s Web site, but it was released to the public today.
Gentry, 33, was convicted in February 2007 in the November 2005 death of her husband, Waymon Keith Gentry. He was shot in the head while lying in bed at the couple’s Robinson home.
Baytown attorney Michael McNeely, who represented Darlene Gentry, raised several issues in his appeal. But his main argument is that law enforcement used a citizen to get around the judicial system.
McNeely was referring to a day in January 2006 when Gentry was captured on videotape digging in a pond where the murder weapon had been found. The tape was made after a series of phone calls between Gentry and an acquaintance about the pond.
The acquaintance later called the Texas Rangers, who had a dive team search the pond and found a .22-caliber revolver belonging to Keith Gentry.
After that discovery, the Rangers had the man call Gentry two times, telling her he was going to drain the pond. She eventually showed up at the site and was caught on tape prodding the muddy bottom in the same spot where the gun had been found.
Investigators said they had other evidence incriminating Gentry, who is serving a 60-year sentence for the murder, but the video was the icing on the cake.
Here are photos from her sentencing and audio of her 911 call.
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More coverage on Baylor’s Griffin
Here’s more positive press about Baylor freshman Michael Griffin in this Dallas Morning News story. The Bears’ 400-meter hurdler and teammate Justin Boyd advanced to today’s semifinals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, with solid showings in Wednesday’s preliminaries.
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Supreme Court backs rights of Gitmo detainees
The Supreme Court ruled today that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.
The justices handed the Bush administration its third setback at the high court since 2004 over its treatment of prisoners who are being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The vote was 5-4, with the court’s liberal justices in the majority.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said, “The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.”
It was not immediately clear whether this ruling, unlike the first two, would lead to prompt hearings for the detainees, some who have been held more than six years. Roughly 270 men remain at the island prison, classified as enemy combatants and held on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.
— The Associated Press
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Google co-founder books space flight
Space Adventures, a Virginia company that arranges passage for wealthy explorers to ride on Russian Soyuz rockets to the International Space Station, plans to buy a Soyuz flight in 2011.
Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, is reportedly likely to fill one of two available seats on that 2011 flight. He made a $5 million investment in the company that will serve as a deposit on a future flight.
Charles Simonyi, an American software executive, blasted off with a two-man Soyuz crew in April 2007.
— The New York Times
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Update: Man attacked by bees taken to Waco hospital
A man attacked by a swarm of bees while mowing a field near Imperial Drive was taken to Providence Health Center this morning.
Assistant fire chief Don Yeager said the man was operating a shredder tractor and apparently drove over a bee hive at about 8:30 this morning. The bees attacked, and the man ran 20 to 30 feet toward the roadway before collapsing.
Yeager said he is unsure who called 9-1-1, but when paramedics arrived, they were trapped in their vehicle by swarming bees. Firefighters arrived on the scene and used foam to get the bees off the man and were able to move the man to the ambulance, where paramedics got to work and continued to pull bees off him.
Reginald Searcy, an employee at nearby Foxworth-Galbraith, said he saw the man, whom he described as being in his late 60s or early 70s, in the field waving his arms. Searcy jumped in a truck with another worker to drive over to see if they could help. The victim was hired by the company to mow the field, he said.
By the time they arrived, Searcy said, ambulance workers were on the scene and signaled the Foxworth-Galbraith workers to stay in their truck, which was being bombarded by bees.
The victim had a baseball cap over his face for protection, Searcy said, and his arms and trunk were covered in bees.
Yeager, the assistant chief, said the victim had multiple stings, but was conscious and talking when he was taken from the scene to Providence. Some of the firefighters on the scene also were stung through their protective gear.
It’s not known yet if the bees were Africanized bees or just more aggressive than normal bees, Yeager said.
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Missing Robinson man may be in New Mexico
Officials believe a Robinson man reported missing last week is now in New Mexico.
Police discovered video footage of Russell Petter, 44, boarding a bus bound for Albuquerque on May 24, Robinson Police Lt. Tracy O’Connor said.
Petter’s family reported him missing to police May 26, and after searching for two weeks, police believe he had left the area freely, O’Connor said.
Petter is wanted on a failure to appear warrant for missing a May 8 court date for a DWI arrest in August 2007.
On May 24, Petter boarded a bus in Temple with a layover in Waco, O’Connor said.
A family member of Petter’s “misinformed police” by originally telling police Petter was last seen May 26, O’Connor said. He declined to identify the family member because charges are pending.