On this date, March 28, 2011, two
African American teens, Tyus Sneed and Keenan Hubert were both shot dead by
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QUOTE 1:
Friday, November 2, 2012 - A McLennan County jury rejected Rickey Donnell Cummings’ alibi that he
was selling marijuana six blocks away when two men were gunned down in 2011 at
the Lakewood Villas apartments, convicting him Friday of capital murder.
Cummings, 23, who told jurors Thursday he was
not involved in the deaths, showed no reaction when 19th State District Judge
Ralph Strother read the verdict.
The crowded courtroom heeded Strother’s
instructions prohibiting displays of emotion or other outbursts.
Security has been tight throughout the
nine-day trial, but officials ramped it up even more Friday. At least 14 law
enforcement officers were present in the courtroom when the verdict was
returned, including deputies standing in the aisle to separate the victims’
families and friends from Cummings’ family.
Seventeen officers were stationed in the
courthouse rotunda and almost two dozen more from various agencies watched over
the courthouse parking lot as the crowd poured into the street after the
verdict.
Cummings is one of four men charged in the
March 2011 shooting deaths of Tyus Sneed, 17, and Keenan Hubert, 20, as they
sat in the back seat of a car at the Spring Street apartments.
Two others, Deontrae Majors and Marion Bible,
who were in the front seat, were wounded in the ambush but managed to escape
the car and flee.
The punishment phase of the trial begins at
8:30 a.m. Monday. Cummings faces the death penalty or life in prison without
parole.
The jury deliberated about three hours before
convicting Cummings, whom prosecutors called a “cold-blooded, ruthless killer.”
Hubert’s father, Artie Matthews, called
Friday a “good day,” and said Cummings deserves the death penalty.
“We’ve got one down, three
to go,” he said, referring to Cummings’ co-defendants. “I
want death, nothing but. He deserves to die. He’s a coward.”
Rickey
Cummings flashes a peace sign after being sentenced to death in Waco’s 19th
State District Court. Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald |
QUOTE 2:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - While Rickey Donnell Cummings was on his way to death row, one of the
fathers of his murder victims was headed to the cemetery to tell his son “we
got him.”
Jurors in Waco’s 19th State District Court
deliberated about 3 1/2 hours Wednesday before returning a death sentence
for Cummings in the 2011 ambush-style slayings of two men at an East Waco
apartment complex.
Cummings’ defense attorneys had hoped to
spare him the death sentence, telling jurors that the death penalty should be
reserved for the worst of the worst.
Prosecutors countered that the 23-year-old
alleged Bloods gang member’s “callous, blood-thirsty” actions, plus an
escalating spiral of violence, make him an ideal candidate for execution.
As Cummings was led from court, he smiled at
his family members and told them he loved them and to keep their heads up. They
said they loved him, too. He flashed a peace sign on his way to jail.
Cummings was convicted of capital murder
Friday in the March 2011 shooting deaths of Tyus Sneed, 17, and Keenan Hubert,
20, as they sat in the back seat of a car at the Lakewood Villas apartment
complex, 1601 Spring St.
Demontrae Majors, 22, and Marion Bible, 23,
who were in the front seat of the car, were wounded but managed to flee to the
safety of a nearby apartment.
Surrounded by family members and smiling
occasionally, Robert Sneed, Tyus Sneed’s father, remained emotional, as he has
been throughout the trial.
“It’s over,” he said.
“We got him, we got him, we got him. Now, it’s time to
go to Tyus’ grave and tell him we got him.”
Robert Sneed, father of shooting victim Tyus Sneed, is overcome by emotions after Rickey Cummings was convicted of capital murder Friday. Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald |
QUOTE 3: Hubert’s
father, Artemus Matthews, had a different, anger-laced message for Cummings, whom
he called a coward in his courtroom statement.
“I hope they kill you over
and over and over,” Matthews said, taking note of Cummings’ tattoos. “You must like needles. They’ve got one waiting for you down
there. . . . You’re going to come home in a body bag.”
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