Victor Godinez enters the courtroom at the Hidalgo County Courthouse, Tuesday, Jan. 30 2024, in Edinburg, Texas. A Texas jury early Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, sentenced Godinez, a south Texas man, to death for fatally shooting a state trooper in 2019. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP)
Victor Godinez enters the courtroom at the Hidalgo County Courthouse, Tuesday, Jan. 30 2024, in Edinburg, Texas. A Texas jury early Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, sentenced Godinez, a south Texas man, to death for fatally shooting a state trooper in 2019. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP)
DLEDINBURG, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury early Wednesday recommended a south Texas man be sentenced to death for fatally shooting a state trooper in 2019.
The Hidalgo County jury that convicted Victor Godinez last week of capital murder and deliberated for nearly 12 hours before returning the death penalty recommendation shortly after midnight.
Godinez, 29, was to be formally sentenced Wednesday afternoon.
Godinez was convicted after a 16-day trial in the of Trooper Moises Sanchez.
Sanchez four months after being shot in the head and shoulder in Edinburg while investigating a vehicle collision in which Godinez had fled the scene.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has said Sanchez approached a vehicle crash where the driver fled on foot. The trooper then located Godinez near the scene and was shot.
Defense attorney O. Rene Flores argued that Sanchez had died due to complications of surgery to his skull and not because of the gunshot wound to the head.
Prosecutors countered that the shooting led to the need for the surgery.
“This is as much justice as we are going to get,” prosecutor Joseph Orendain said. “I think this community has spoken and said that they’re not going to tolerate this kind of behavior in our county. And they are going to give the most serious punishment that they can dole out.”
The jury also convicted Godinez of attempted murder of two law enforcement officers during a manhunt for him and sentenced him to life in prison on those counts.
Texas death penalty verdicts are automatically appealed to an appeals court.
The ɫtv Press. All rights reserved.
For many Indigenous communities, access to financial services and economic opportu…
Trust in international money transfers has long been tied to physical places: a ba…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Tax: | |
| Today's total: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
