REMEMBERING TYUS SNEED AND KEENAN HUBERT (BOTH DIED ON MARCH 28, 2011 IN WACO, TEXAS)

            On this date, March 28, 2011, two African American teens, Tyus Sneed and Keenan Hubert were both shot dead by Rickey Donnell Cummings. Rickey Donnell Cummings was convicted of capital murder in the March 28, 2011 shooting deaths of Tyus Sneed, 17, and Keenan Hubert, 20, as they sat in the back seat of the car at the Lakewood Villas apartment complex, 1601 Spring St, Waco, Texas. 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. 

            We, Victims’ Families For the Death Penalty, were satisfied that Cummings was sentenced to death on Wednesday November 7, 2012, some justice was served here. Let us not forget the two boys by hearing from their parents:

SOURCE: http://www.kwkt.com/news/update-waco-isd-tightens-security-talk-of-retaliation-after-murder

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.”