Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:28:58 GMT -5
Man pleads guilty to murders ---- Deal puts killer in prison for life
A man charged in the killing of 2 men near Wildorado in April pleaded
guilty to a capital murder charge Thursday.
Michael Edward Ryan, 29, entered a guilty plea in exchange for a life
sentence without parole for his role in the killing of Claude Robertson
and Allen Hazelwood, according to Randall Sims, district attorney for the
47th District.
A family member discovered Robertson's body lying beside his pickup about
1 p.m. April 18 on his property near Adkisson Road and Interstate 40 near
Wildorado.
When authorities moved Robertson's body, they found he had been shot once
in the chest. While searching the area, authorities found Hazelwood -
Robertson's employee - dead about 40 yards away.
Court complaints filed against Ryan showed that he admitted to officers
that he shot both Hazelwood, 51, and Robertson, 74, with a shotgun.
Ryan's co-defendant, Jason Michael Williams, 30, is still in custody at
the Potter County Correctional Center on a charge of capital murder and a
bond of $1 million, according to jail logs.
Families of both victims were in court Thursday. Several members of each
family gave victim impact statements describing how the deaths of the 2
men affected their lives, Sims said.
Ryan made no comment in court, Sims said.
"Making the decision on what punishment to try to seek on a capital murder
case is the toughest decision you have to make as district attorney since
another life hangs directly in the balance of that decision," Sims said in
a prepared statement. "Each case must be evaluated independently on all
relevant circumstances.
"Taking into account all the circumstances that must be considered when
deciding whether to seek the death penalty or allow a plea for life in
prison, all family members, (Potter-Randall Special Crime Unit) members,
and myself agreed this was the appropriate punishment to seek for this
case."
The break in the homicide case came when Potter County Sgt. John Coffee, a
Potter-Randall Special Crimes unit investigator, found that jewelry from
Robertson's home was pawned the same day at Cash for Gold, 1913 S. Georgia
St.
According to court records, Ryan reportedly pawned two of the gold rings
that belonged to Patty Robertson, Claude Robertson's wife.
One ring had a wide gold band with a large single diamond stone, while the
other was a multi-diamond ring with wire-gold bands that are distinctive.
Pawn receipts showed that Ryan received about $850 in exchange for the
jewelry.
Armed with an arrest warrant, a SWAT team later went to arrest Ryan at his
home in the 1000 block of West 10th Avenue, where Ryan reportedly jumped
out a window. Officers used a Taser to bring him into custody, according
to police reports.
(source: The Amarillo Globe-News)
A man charged in the killing of 2 men near Wildorado in April pleaded
guilty to a capital murder charge Thursday.
Michael Edward Ryan, 29, entered a guilty plea in exchange for a life
sentence without parole for his role in the killing of Claude Robertson
and Allen Hazelwood, according to Randall Sims, district attorney for the
47th District.
A family member discovered Robertson's body lying beside his pickup about
1 p.m. April 18 on his property near Adkisson Road and Interstate 40 near
Wildorado.
When authorities moved Robertson's body, they found he had been shot once
in the chest. While searching the area, authorities found Hazelwood -
Robertson's employee - dead about 40 yards away.
Court complaints filed against Ryan showed that he admitted to officers
that he shot both Hazelwood, 51, and Robertson, 74, with a shotgun.
Ryan's co-defendant, Jason Michael Williams, 30, is still in custody at
the Potter County Correctional Center on a charge of capital murder and a
bond of $1 million, according to jail logs.
Families of both victims were in court Thursday. Several members of each
family gave victim impact statements describing how the deaths of the 2
men affected their lives, Sims said.
Ryan made no comment in court, Sims said.
"Making the decision on what punishment to try to seek on a capital murder
case is the toughest decision you have to make as district attorney since
another life hangs directly in the balance of that decision," Sims said in
a prepared statement. "Each case must be evaluated independently on all
relevant circumstances.
"Taking into account all the circumstances that must be considered when
deciding whether to seek the death penalty or allow a plea for life in
prison, all family members, (Potter-Randall Special Crime Unit) members,
and myself agreed this was the appropriate punishment to seek for this
case."
The break in the homicide case came when Potter County Sgt. John Coffee, a
Potter-Randall Special Crimes unit investigator, found that jewelry from
Robertson's home was pawned the same day at Cash for Gold, 1913 S. Georgia
St.
According to court records, Ryan reportedly pawned two of the gold rings
that belonged to Patty Robertson, Claude Robertson's wife.
One ring had a wide gold band with a large single diamond stone, while the
other was a multi-diamond ring with wire-gold bands that are distinctive.
Pawn receipts showed that Ryan received about $850 in exchange for the
jewelry.
Armed with an arrest warrant, a SWAT team later went to arrest Ryan at his
home in the 1000 block of West 10th Avenue, where Ryan reportedly jumped
out a window. Officers used a Taser to bring him into custody, according
to police reports.
(source: The Amarillo Globe-News)