The Justice Journal: Vol. 59 (English)

The Justice Journal: Vol. 59

A look at cases recently prosecuted by the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office.

State vs. David Rojas

Capital Murder

Lead: Leighton D’Antoni

2nd Chair: Amy Derrick

3rd Chair: Klarissa Diaz

Haley Pratt, Tristan DerMargosian

DA Investigators: Jon Wakefield, Lee Thompson, Abby Cruz, Rafael Vela, Ed Gibson

DA Victim Advocates: Mackenzie Kile, Roquel Mayhorn

Additional Support: Valerie Obregon, Miranda Maldonado. Irene Duong, Adnrea Del Bosque

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department, FBI, and DA’s Office SAKI Unit

Additional thanks to those outside the SAKI unit who helped throughout trial. We could not have achieved this result without you!

Mary Hauge Kelly was a beloved 78-year-old grandmother who was found raped, murdered (strangled), and stuffed under her bed in January of 1989. After an extensive investigation by the Dallas Police Department, no suspects were identified, and the case went cold. In 2004, the first DNA testing on the case was conducted on the victim’s robe and an unknown male profile was identified. The suspect profile did not hit on any offender in the CODIS database or match any known suspect profiles from the case investigation.

In the fall of 2021, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Team applied for and received a Season of Justice Grant to fund additional testing on the robe. The evidence was sent to Othram Lab where a SNP profile of the suspect was identified. Subsequent genealogical investigation helped identify David Rojas as the suspect. Rojas’s father lived next door to Ms. Kelly in 1989. With the assistance of the FBI, a surreptitious DNA collection from a discarded beer bottle resulted in a direct match of David Rojas to the victim’s robe.

Although the suspect as identified, the case still presented challenges, including the presence of 2 unknown male DNA profile identified on 2 different possible murder weapons (cords) found in the same bedroom as the victim. The State presented a strong case led by DA Investigator Jon Wakefield who testified as the case’s lead investigator.

The jury took just two hours to convict Mr. Rojas who was automatically sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole because the case was tried under 1989 law.

GUILTY and sentenced to LIFE in prison.

State vs. Jorge Esparza

Murder

Lead: Kishwer Lakhani

2nd Chair: Jay Worley

DA Investigator: Catherine Justice, James Hammond

DA Victim Advocate: Maggie Negrete

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The victim was a hospice nurse who was pursuing his master’s degree at UTA. He was shot in the head right after going on a first date with a woman whom the defendant had been stalking for some time.  On the night of the murder, the defendant followed the victim’s car out of the woman’s neighborhood. He then ran his car into the victim’s car, causing the victim to get out to inspect the damage. Upon checking the damage, the defendant shot the victim in the head.

Dallas police traced the victim’s steps back to the woman who then provided information about the defendant. The defendant was interviewed by police and eventually admitted to shooting the victim in the head. Additional investigation revealed that the defendant had sent messages and images referencing the Netflix show YOU, where the lead character is known for stalking women and murdering their love interests. Cell phone mapping placed the defendant at the offense location at the time the murder occurred.

This defendant did not have any prior arrests or any other criminal history, however, while the case was pending, other women were identified as past victims of his stalking. During the punishment phase of the trial, those additional women testified, detailing incidents of assaults, intimidation, and destruction of their homes, cars, and belongings. The damage included graffiti, slashing tires, and setting fires.

The jury returned a quick guilty verdict and after they heard from the punishment witnesses, they sentenced the defendant to life in prison.

GUILTY and sentenced to LIFE in prison.

State vs. William Beckam

Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child

Lead: Blake Penfield

2nd Chair: Kristen vanBolden

DA Investigator: Howard Sparks

DA Victim Advocate: Yvonne Macias

Investigating Agency: Irving Police Department

The defendant was found guilty of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 14.

Once being found guilty, the defendant asked to agree to a life without parole sentence. He also asked to plead guilty to life without parole for the cases involving the other children. The defendant was thoroughly admonished regarding this decision and was subsequently sentenced in accordance with his wishes to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

GUILTY and sentenced to LIFE in prison without the possibility of parole.

State vs. Andre Woods

Murder

Lead: Nadin-Sarah Salkic

2nd Chair: Sarah Stefaniak

3rd Chair: Zachery Brown

DA Investigator: Claudia Mena-Marroquin

DA Paralegal: Patzy Butler

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

Other thanks: Detective Rodrigues with the Dallas police Department and Madelein Garcia.

The defendant picked up the victim Iris Franks in the early morning hours of July 3, 2022. They arrived at the Lamplighter motel around 4 in the morning and were seen leaving the car and walking towards the defendant’s motel room. Less than 30 minute later, the defendant is again seen on video surveillance carrying the victim’s lifeless body into his car. It was astonishing how he treated her on video, throwing her around and shoving her into the car. He dumped her body at a nearby park and returned to the motel where he tried to clean the entire room with bleach. He took items covered in blood and put them in his car and drove off. Later, police found all of the incriminating bloody evidence in his car, and it was obvious he tried to bleach the car as well.

Iris’s body was discovered in the park about an hour and a half after the murder. She was beaten, bloody, and half naked. Later, the medical examiner found that she was cut multiple times, had blunt force trauma to multiple areas on her head, and was brutally strangled. The only clue the police had wen they found her body was a motel receipt stuck to her foot that contained the name of the defendant. Following that lead, detectives went to the Lamplighter motel and located the defendant’s room which smelled strongly of bleach and had blood in front of it. While there, the defendant drove up and saw the detectives then took off. He eventually crashed his car while trying to negotiate a difficult turn.

The defendant was interviewed by police, and he denied killing Iris, but he did admit to beating her. During trial, the defendant testified and admitted having committed the murder but claimed self-defense. He tried to tarnish her character, but the jury did not believe that. They returned a swift guilty verdict in less than 14 minutes. Upon punishment, the defendant testified again and stated that he believed he deserved a second chance and maybe 20 to 30 years in prison. The jury again returned a swift verdict of 99 years.

Thank you to the Franks family for being strong and present during this trial and believing in us.

GUILTY and sentenced to 99 years in prison.

State vs. Elijah Alaniz

Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon causing Serious Bodily Injury to a Family Member

Lead: Megan Reed

2nd Chair: Caitlin Paver

DA Investigator: LaUnice Jackson

DA Victim Advocates: Patricia Salas & Audri Graham

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

Following a night out with a friend, the defendant came home to the apartment he shared with the victim and threatened to kill her. Because of that threat, the victim planned to leave the apartment for the night. The defendant attacked her as she tried to leave and dragged her back into the apartment by her hair, where he proceeded to brutally assault her for the next hour and a half. Once the defendant had worn himself out from the assault, he fell asleep. The victim was able to text her mom who then called police.

The victim fought for her life throughout the assault and luckily survived. She was unrecognizable after the assault, suffering from a brain bleed, broken nose, broken jaw, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung.

During punishment, the jury heard about an assault the defendant had committed against another woman in 2022. The jury also heard about a 2017 assault he committed against yet another woman.

GUILTY and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

State vs. Keldrick Hines

Aggravated Sexual Assault

Lead: Tristin DerMargosian

2nd Chair: Haley Pratt

DA Investigator: Abigail Cruz

DA Victim Advocate: Adriana Sellers

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The victim was moving apartments within the same apartment complex. In the process of moving, the defendant entered the slightly ajar front door. The defendant was wearing a mask and forced the victim into her bedroom at gunpoint. After the sexual assault, the defendant stole the victim’s ID and money. The victim had no idea who her assailant was, and the case when cold for a few months. A CODIS hit lead Dallas Police Detective Cardenas to the defendant, and in the course of his investigation learned that the defendant had also sexually assaulted two other women in the months after sexually assaulting this victim.

GUILTY and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

State vs. Abraham Gonzalez, Jr.

Terroristic Threatening

Lead: Jonathan Grant

2nd Chair: Dimitri Anagnostis

DA Investigator: John Schingle

DA Legal Assistant: Regina Taylor

Investigating Agency: Grand Prairie Police Department

On or about February 1, 2022, the defendant made a threat in the cafeteria of his high school that he was going to kill his classmates. Within the week of the treat, the defendant asked two classmates for a gun. One instance was 15 minutes after threatening to kill his classmates.

Additionally, after the threat was made, the defendant told other students that he had a “hit list”. This information spread across the student body, culminating in a student warning everyone not to go to school because of the threat through social media. As a result of the defendant’s threat to kill his classmates, roughly half of the student body did not attend school.

GUILTY and sentenced to 8 years in prison probated for 3 years.