Let us not forget Frank Meziere who
was murdered on this date, March 26, 1998. We will also remember him on his
birthday on July 31 every year. The Killer, Yokamon
Laneal Hearn was executed by lethal injection in Texas on July 18, 2012.
Let us hear from his family members:
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Frank Meziere
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Birth:
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Jul. 31, 1974
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Death:
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Mar. 26, 1998
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 Joseph Franklin Meziere No Author Published: March 29, 1998 Oklahoman MEZIERE Joseph Franklin, 23, of Plano, passed away March 26, 1998. Frank was born on July 31, 1974 to Steve and Jacquelyn Meziere. Frank graduated from Plano East High School in 1992 and attended A&M University in which he graduated with a degree in 1996. Frank pursued his career as a Stock Broker working it Merrill Lynch Corp in Dallas. He was also a member of the Aggie Alumni Association. Frank is survived by his parents,Steve and Jacque; brother, Matt; grandparents, Virginia Minton and Mabel Meziere of Oklahoma City; and numerous other retatives and friends. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, March 30, 1998, at 1:00 PM at St. Mark's Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Plano Mutual Cemetery. BIOG: NAME: UPD: |
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Summary: Frank
Meziere had watched a Dallas Mavericks basketball game at a restaurant with a
friend and before heading home decided to stop at a self-service car wash to
clean his black Mustang convertible. The 23-year-old Plano stockbroker, a 1996
Texas A&M University graduate, never made it home. His body was found the
next day, March 26, 1998, along the side of a road in an industrial area of Oak
Cliff, an area of south Dallas. Evidence admitted at trial established that on
March 25, 1998, then 19-year-old Yokamon Laneal Hearn and three others drove to
North Dallas for the expressed purpose of making some money. The group carried
with them two shotguns, a .22 caliber pistol, and a Tec-9 automatic. At about
10:30 p.m. the group observed Frank Meziere preparing to wash his 1994 Mustang
in a coin-operated car wash. Hearn devised a plan to steal the car and
instructed his accomplices how to proceed. Hearn and his companions abducted
Frank Meziere at gunpoint and drove him to a secluded location where Hearn used
the Tec-9 to shoot Meziere in the face. Meziere died as the result of twelve
close-range gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. The assailants then took
Frank's wallet and personal items. Hearn then drove away in Meziere’s Mustang
in search of a “chop shop” for stolen cars. A city electrician discovered
Meziere’s body in a patch of grass in a roadside field around 6:00 am the next
morning. Two hours later a patrol officer discovered Meziere’s abandoned
Mustang in a shopping center parking lot. Hearn and his companions were caught
on videotape by a security camera at a convenience store adjacent to the car
wash. Hearn and Delvin Diles were arrested several days later when police acted
on a tip they received. Meziere's father said at the time, "I just hope
justice can be done as soon as possible. I've always been in favor of the death
penalty, and I stand by that now." Dallas County criminal records showed
Diles had received 5 years of probation the previous summer after pleading
guilty to a felony burglary charge; Hearn had been charged with misdemeanor
theft, a case which was still pending at the time of Frank's murder. Physical evidence
linked both Hearn and Diles to the car. Diles, 19 at the time, pleaded guilty
and was sentenced to consecutive life terms for Meziere's death and an
unrelated aggravated robbery. Teresa Shirley, then 19, and Dwight Burley, then
20, were arrested more than 8 months later. Each pleaded guilty to aggravated
robbery and received 10-year prison sentences. At Hearn's trial, Shirley
testified that she was the driver of the second car. She said that Meziere had
his arms raised and appeared to be begging for his life as Hearn swung a Tec-9
semiautomatic rifle back and forth. The rifle, Shirley testified, had been
stolen in an apartment burglary the previous day. Hearn fired at Meziere and
kept shooting him even after he fell to the ground. Diles also shot at the
victim several times with his revolver, she testified. Shirley further
testified that Hearn later bragged about the killing. She said he waved around
a newspaper account stating that Meziere had been shot in the head - or
"domed" in street slang, and he told her, "I told you I domed
him. I told you. I told you." At age 19, Hearn had no prior felony
convictions. Testimony at his punishment hearing indicated that he had an
unadjudicated history of burglary, robbery, sexual assault, and other offenses.
A jury convicted Hearn of capital murder in December 1998 and sentenced him to
death.
Frank Meziere’s father, brother and uncle were among those who witnessed Hearn’s lethal injection. “We did not come today to view this execution for revenge or to even the score,” the family said afterward in a statement. “What this does is give our family and friends the knowledge that Mr. Hearn will not have the opportunity to hurt anyone else.”
