AlamoSpursFan
06-17-2006, 04:59 PM
...not quite what I had hoped this worthless little cock-sucker would have gotten, but I'll take it.
His victims were bright, beautiful people who had just left home to go out to eat. Mari was a good friend, and the best supervisor I've ever worked for. Captain Hernandez didn't deserve to have his life ruined by this shithead and I hope he gets shanked in the yard SOON.
http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_4782685,00.html
Father reviles family's killer
Cortez is sentenced to three 99-year terms, plus 20, in deaths of 3
By Jaime Powell Caller-Times
June 17, 2006
Corpus Christi Fire Capt. Manuel Hernandez had a stop to make Friday morning before he came to court to watch the sentencing of the man who killed his wife and daughters.
"Today would have been Josie's birthday, my wife," he said. "Today I went to the cemetery and took her flowers and sang 'Happy Birthday.'"
Jurors in the murder trial of Jesus Tranquilino Cortez Jr., 20, deliberated for two hours before sentencing him to three concurrent 99-year prison terms for a head-on collision with the Hernandez family's vehicle that killed Josephina Hernandez, 49, Maricella Nicole Hernandez, 24 and Melinda Hernandez, 14, on May 15, 2005.
Jurors handed down an additional 20 years for serious injuries sustained by Manuel Hernandez, who was in the vehicle with his family, and a $10,000 fine for each of the four charges. Cortez won't be eligible for parole for 30 years.
The sentences came after several hours of testimony from prosecutors and the defense.
Perhaps the most poignant testimony came from Hernandez, who described his once full life, as his large extended family, both men and women, cried in the gallery.
"All my hopes, all my dreams, all our plans that we had as a family were destroyed," he said, alternating between tears and fits of anger.
"Hell yes I'm angry," Hernandez said. "He was a rotten apple. This could have been avoided. My girls did not have to die."
Staring down Cortez, who was looking on and showing no emotion, Hernandez growled through his teeth, "You have never offered your sympathy. You can go to hell."
There was also testimony from then-Robstown police officer Timothy Frazier, who told jurors that after he arrested Cortez for one of the infractions, Cortez threatened him.
"He told me that he was going to kill me," Frazier said. "He was going to wait until he saw me on the streets, take his pistol and shoot me."
Defense lawyers portrayed Cortez as a troubled boy, experimenting with drugs and alcohol and getting into minor scrapes with the law, before the May 2005 wreck that killed the Hernandezes.
Cortez's aunt, Maria Orobio testified he had been a happy, respectful boy until he fell in with the wrong crowd. She pleaded with the jury to understand that there was hope for her nephew if the jury would spare his future.
He had gotten into drugs, and although Orobio, another aunt and his mother all begged him to get help, Cortez refused to go, she said.
"He was not a leader," Orobio said. "He was a follower."
On the stand, Frazier, who testified he had dealt with Cortez on numerous occasions, had a different take.
"He does not obey the law and he will do what he can to get what he wants," Frazier said.
Prosecutors introduced Cortez's criminal record, which included drug possession charges and stealing beer and gasoline.
As Judge Tom Greenwell read the verdicts late Friday afternoon, Hernandez, sitting on the front row, nodded in agreement, a tight smile on his face.
Hernandex pointed out that Cortez's father still could see him and sing 'Happy Birthday' to him, while his wife and daughters are in coffins.
Contact Jaime Powell at 886-3716 or powellj@ caller.com
His victims were bright, beautiful people who had just left home to go out to eat. Mari was a good friend, and the best supervisor I've ever worked for. Captain Hernandez didn't deserve to have his life ruined by this shithead and I hope he gets shanked in the yard SOON.
http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_4782685,00.html
Father reviles family's killer
Cortez is sentenced to three 99-year terms, plus 20, in deaths of 3
By Jaime Powell Caller-Times
June 17, 2006
Corpus Christi Fire Capt. Manuel Hernandez had a stop to make Friday morning before he came to court to watch the sentencing of the man who killed his wife and daughters.
"Today would have been Josie's birthday, my wife," he said. "Today I went to the cemetery and took her flowers and sang 'Happy Birthday.'"
Jurors in the murder trial of Jesus Tranquilino Cortez Jr., 20, deliberated for two hours before sentencing him to three concurrent 99-year prison terms for a head-on collision with the Hernandez family's vehicle that killed Josephina Hernandez, 49, Maricella Nicole Hernandez, 24 and Melinda Hernandez, 14, on May 15, 2005.
Jurors handed down an additional 20 years for serious injuries sustained by Manuel Hernandez, who was in the vehicle with his family, and a $10,000 fine for each of the four charges. Cortez won't be eligible for parole for 30 years.
The sentences came after several hours of testimony from prosecutors and the defense.
Perhaps the most poignant testimony came from Hernandez, who described his once full life, as his large extended family, both men and women, cried in the gallery.
"All my hopes, all my dreams, all our plans that we had as a family were destroyed," he said, alternating between tears and fits of anger.
"Hell yes I'm angry," Hernandez said. "He was a rotten apple. This could have been avoided. My girls did not have to die."
Staring down Cortez, who was looking on and showing no emotion, Hernandez growled through his teeth, "You have never offered your sympathy. You can go to hell."
There was also testimony from then-Robstown police officer Timothy Frazier, who told jurors that after he arrested Cortez for one of the infractions, Cortez threatened him.
"He told me that he was going to kill me," Frazier said. "He was going to wait until he saw me on the streets, take his pistol and shoot me."
Defense lawyers portrayed Cortez as a troubled boy, experimenting with drugs and alcohol and getting into minor scrapes with the law, before the May 2005 wreck that killed the Hernandezes.
Cortez's aunt, Maria Orobio testified he had been a happy, respectful boy until he fell in with the wrong crowd. She pleaded with the jury to understand that there was hope for her nephew if the jury would spare his future.
He had gotten into drugs, and although Orobio, another aunt and his mother all begged him to get help, Cortez refused to go, she said.
"He was not a leader," Orobio said. "He was a follower."
On the stand, Frazier, who testified he had dealt with Cortez on numerous occasions, had a different take.
"He does not obey the law and he will do what he can to get what he wants," Frazier said.
Prosecutors introduced Cortez's criminal record, which included drug possession charges and stealing beer and gasoline.
As Judge Tom Greenwell read the verdicts late Friday afternoon, Hernandez, sitting on the front row, nodded in agreement, a tight smile on his face.
Hernandex pointed out that Cortez's father still could see him and sing 'Happy Birthday' to him, while his wife and daughters are in coffins.
Contact Jaime Powell at 886-3716 or powellj@ caller.com