Ronnie "Romeo" Pinkerton, 48, faces two to 20 years in prison for burglary of a building, a charge that was enhanced from a state jail felony to a second-degree felony because of his prior convictions.
On May 9, just before a Smith County jury was to be selected for his trial, Pinkerton elected to have a bench trial and 7th District Judge Kerry Russell found him guilty of the charge after about an hour of testimony.
Defense attorney Tonda Curry informed Russell that she was ready to proceed with the hearing but her client had just told her his psychiatric medication wasn't working Monday and he asked that the court not continue with the sentencing.
Pinkerton said his medication stopped working and he talked to a doctor Sunday night and was informed it could be a few days before he was able to get new medication. He said he hadn't slept in four days and was about to try to sleep around lunchtime when he was informed he had the court hearing, which was set May 9.
Russell said Pinkerton should be able to assist his attorney, so he reset the hearing for 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 11.
Assistant Smith County District Attorney Jason Parrish said earlier that Tyler Police officers Scott Behrend and Daniel Richardson responded to a silent alarm at Griffin Elementary on July 30. In a portable building on the campus, a window had been broken and the officers heard noises coming from inside.
When Pinkerton opened the door, the officers ordered him to get on the ground but he ran and scaled a fence before they caught him, Parrish said, adding that the defendant had stacked up computer equipment by the door inside the building.
Pinkerton is also accused of abducting five people from a Kilgore KFC restaurant in 1983 and then shooting them execution-style in a Rusk County oil field. That trial is set for August 2007.
A Rusk County grand jury indicted Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield, 45, in November for five counts of capital murder.
On Sept. 23, 1983, five people were abducted from a KFC restaurant in Kilgore and taken to a rural oil field in Rusk County where they were shot in the head and left for dead. An oil field worker discovered the bodies the next day.
Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, were found shot to death. All five were shot at least twice.
Casey Knaupp covers county, state and federal courts. She can be reached at 903.596.6289. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com"> news@tylerpaper.com
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