KFC UPDATE: Jurors Still Gagged
Staff photo by Jaime R. Carrero
A family member of Monte Landers holds a picture of him during his prom during the last day of the KFC trial in New Boston today.
(Editor's Note: TylerPaper.com has reporters and a photographer covering the story today, and all will file reports as information becomes available. More recent updates are posted at the bottom of the page.)
The judge in the KFC murders case will dismiss the jury this morning. Yesterday the defendant, Romeo Pinkerton, a 49-year-old Tyler man with a history of burglary convictions, pleaded guilty to the murders.
The judge in the KFC murders case will dismiss the jury this morning. Yesterday the defendant, Romeo Pinkerton, a 49-year-old Tyler man with a history of burglary convictions, pleaded guilty to the murders.
Pinkerton’s confession during a hearing in Rusk County brought a swift and surprising end to one of the most infamous mass murder cases in Texas. The trial of Pinkerton, who was facing capital murder charges in the deaths of five people abducted and slain in 1983, was being held in New Boston on a change of venue motion.
On Friday, the judge unexpectedly adjourned the proceedings. Prosecutors brought family victims behind closed doors. They were being informed that a plea bargain was in the making.
Judge Clay Gossett announced the trial would resume on Tuesday. However, on Monday, the judge and attorneys involved met in Gossett’s Rusk County courtroom in Henderson and hammered out the deal. Family members of the victims were informed privately and gave their support of the plea bargain, Gossett said Monday.
Pinkerton, who faced the possibility of being executed if found guilty of capital murder, agreed to the plea bargain that spared his life. He pleaded guilty to five cases of murder and was given a life sentence for each.
This morning, Gossett will release the jury panel, which has already sat through two weeks of testimony in New Boston. It is likely the jurors, who have been warned to avoid news reports, do not yet know what happened.
Gossett has also indicated that more information about the plea bargain could be released today.
Prosecutors say Pinkerton, along with his cousin, Darnell Hartsfield, killed the employees and patrons of the KFC restaurant on the night Sept. 23, 1983.
Hartsfield’s trial has not been set yet. He has entered a plea of not guilty.
The victims were Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; Monte Landers, 19. Their bodies were found the next day in a rural area in nearby Rusk County. They had all been shot.
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 at 10:43 a.m. CDT:
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
NEW BOSTON —The Bowie County jury that has been hearing an infamous Texas murder case made its way into the courtroom and sat down as State District Judge Clay Gossett welcomed them.
The jurors listened to Gossett as he told them that Romeo Pinkerton had pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and received five life sentences Monday for his admitted role in the KFC murders of Sept. 23, 1983.
“I gave you a memo on Thursday that we wouldn’t be here on Monday, and I did that so you could have plans,” he said.
Gossett told the jurors that the defense and prosecution had been working on a deal, but he had to keep that information from them in case Pinkerton backed out of pleading guilty.
“I speak for everyone in this courtroom, because I know how they feel and we all appreciate the sacrifices that you have gave the time away from your families and your patience in this proceeding.”
Gossett told jurors they could not discuss their opinions on guilt or innocence in the case due to gag order and the case still pending against Pinkerton’s cousin Darnell Hartsfield.
On Friday, the judge unexpectedly adjourned the proceedings. Prosecutors brought family victims behind closed doors. They were being informed that a plea bargain was in the making.
Judge Clay Gossett announced the trial would resume on Tuesday. However, on Monday, the judge and attorneys involved met in Gossett’s Rusk County courtroom in Henderson and hammered out the deal. Family members of the victims were informed privately and gave their support of the plea bargain, Gossett said Monday.
Pinkerton, who faced the possibility of being executed if found guilty of capital murder, agreed to the plea bargain that spared his life. He pleaded guilty to five cases of murder and was given a life sentence for each.
This morning, Gossett will release the jury panel, which has already sat through two weeks of testimony in New Boston. It is likely the jurors, who have been warned to avoid news reports, do not yet know what happened.
Gossett has also indicated that more information about the plea bargain could be released today.
Prosecutors say Pinkerton, along with his cousin, Darnell Hartsfield, killed the employees and patrons of the KFC restaurant on the night Sept. 23, 1983.
Hartsfield’s trial has not been set yet. He has entered a plea of not guilty.
The victims were Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; Monte Landers, 19. Their bodies were found the next day in a rural area in nearby Rusk County. They had all been shot.
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 at 10:43 a.m. CDT:
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
NEW BOSTON —The Bowie County jury that has been hearing an infamous Texas murder case made its way into the courtroom and sat down as State District Judge Clay Gossett welcomed them.
The jurors listened to Gossett as he told them that Romeo Pinkerton had pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and received five life sentences Monday for his admitted role in the KFC murders of Sept. 23, 1983.
“I gave you a memo on Thursday that we wouldn’t be here on Monday, and I did that so you could have plans,” he said.
Gossett told the jurors that the defense and prosecution had been working on a deal, but he had to keep that information from them in case Pinkerton backed out of pleading guilty.
“I speak for everyone in this courtroom, because I know how they feel and we all appreciate the sacrifices that you have gave the time away from your families and your patience in this proceeding.”
Gossett told jurors they could not discuss their opinions on guilt or innocence in the case due to gag order and the case still pending against Pinkerton’s cousin Darnell Hartsfield.
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