Father indicted in death of drunk driver

Onkel Neal · 02-12-13, 01:48 AM

Quote:

An Alvin father remained in the Brazoria County Jail Monday, charged with murder in the alleged revenge killing of a drunk driver who plowed into his truck, killing his two young sons last December.

David Barajas Sr., 31, a construction worker, is being held in lieu of $450,000 bail in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Jose Inez Banda minutes after the Dec. 7 crash that claimed the lives of Barajas' 11- and 12-year-old sons.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...er-4270089.php

Alvin is 10 minutes from here. Very tragic, it will be interesting to see how a jury views this.

Herr-Berbunch · 02-12-13, 02:43 AM

I'd like to be in that jury!

The guy shouldn't have been out, free, to be shot.

02-12-13, 03:14 AM

Tricky one.
Temporary insanity is the most likely route, though walkng to get the weapon then disposing of it shows a level of calculated action.
Looks like a verdict of murder is the likely outcome, lets just hope they don't have mandatory sentencing.

Jimbuna · 02-12-13, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tribesman

Tricky one.
Temporary insanity is the most likely route, though walkng to get the weapon then disposing of it shows a level of calculated action.
Looks like a verdict of murder is the likely outcome, lets just hope they don't have mandatory sentencing.

Could well be but a big part of me sympathises with the father of the two children.

Mork_417 · 02-12-13, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

I'd like to be in that jury!

Me Too!

AVGWarhawk · 02-12-13, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tribesman

Tricky one.
Temporary insanity is the most likely route, though walkng to get the weapon then disposing of it shows a level of calculated action.
Looks like a verdict of murder is the likely outcome, lets just hope they don't have mandatory sentencing.

I agree with Tribesman. The action was calculated.

02-12-13, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Could well be but a big part of me sympathises with the father of the two children.

I think just about everyone rightly sympathises with the father, but at the end of the day what has that really got do do with it?
That is why the "I want to be on the jury" comments don't make sense, sympathising with either the victim or the accused or the victim who is the accused should play no actual role in an impartial verdict.

Mork_417 · 02-12-13, 06:37 AM

Yeah, i know your right Tribe. The comment doesn't make sense with respect to the law, but made me feel a little better saying it also. Being the father of three girls, there is no way i could be impartial, ever.

Herr-Berbunch · 02-12-13, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloppyRat

Yeah, i know your right Tribe. The comment doesn't make sense with respect to the law, but made me feel a little better saying it also. Being the father of three girls, there is no way i could be impartial, ever.

Similar here.

Skybird · 02-12-13, 07:48 AM

My heart is with the father, but my brain is with the law this time. As I see it, it was calculated action. Despair does not save you from penalty. To let this one get away would mean to open the door wide for lynching and mob law.

02-12-13, 08:02 AM

Floppy & Berbunch. I know, I have attacked people after an accident without even the added weight of personal fatalities involved, it is easy to flip out. In one case I still wish I had actually killed the bastard involved.
But the core of the issue is that you must still be held accountable for your actions.

Mork_417 · 02-12-13, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tribesman

But the core of the issue is that you must still be held accountable for your actions.

This is true sir. Hell, I wouldn't have even bothered to dispose of the weapon afterwards. As, i don't think after that, i would have cared what was going to happen to me. Would have just waited for the officers to show up and take me away.

Of course, this is all speculation, as I hope something like that never happens. But, for this guy it has, and no one can really know what he is going through. Darn SAD situation no matter how you look at it.

Sailor Steve · 02-12-13, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloppyRat

As, i don't think after that, i would have cared what was going to happen to me.

But if you were thinking clearly you would have thought about what would happen to your wife and surviving daughter. Which is why temporary insanity might work.

tater · 02-12-13, 10:49 AM

Sympathizing has everything to do with this case because the jury will be made of other humans. If ONE of them decides the drunk deserved it, he walks. We could argue technical guilt, but it will be decided by 12 citizens, logic and the law be damned. The DA is holding the guy accountable by charging him, but the jury can do whatever they like.

Calling it premeditated because of the effort to walk the short distance home, then come and shoot the guy might be technically accurate, and will result in the appropriate charge, but convincing a jury to put him away on murder might be a stretch. Sometimes DAs need to think tactically, and in this case sympathy is probably high enough that they'd do better to push a much lesser charge as he did society a favor by killing this drunk POS.

Here in NM, the news is filled with DUI cases where the idiot perp has literally dozens of prior stops.

AVGWarhawk · 02-12-13, 10:51 AM

It will be deemed as a crime of passion. Such sudden rage he took the route he did.

02-12-13, 02:43 AM	#2
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	I'd like to be in that jury! The guy shouldn't have been out, free, to be shot. __________________

02-12-13, 06:37 AM	#8
Mork_417 Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: DB-15 Posts: 851 Downloads: 263 Uploads: 0	Yeah, i know your right Tribe. The comment doesn't make sense with respect to the law, but made me feel a little better saying it also. Being the father of three girls, there is no way i could be impartial, ever. __________________ Heading to AM49.(U-553)

02-12-13, 07:48 AM	#10
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,628 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	My heart is with the father, but my brain is with the law this time. As I see it, it was calculated action. Despair does not save you from penalty. To let this one get away would mean to open the door wide for lynching and mob law. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

02-12-13, 10:49 AM	#14
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	Sympathizing has everything to do with this case because the jury will be made of other humans. If ONE of them decides the drunk deserved it, he walks. We could argue technical guilt, but it will be decided by 12 citizens, logic and the law be damned. The DA is holding the guy accountable by charging him, but the jury can do whatever they like. Calling it premeditated because of the effort to walk the short distance home, then come and shoot the guy might be technically accurate, and will result in the appropriate charge, but convincing a jury to put him away on murder might be a stretch. Sometimes DAs need to think tactically, and in this case sympathy is probably high enough that they'd do better to push a much lesser charge as he did society a favor by killing this drunk POS. Here in NM, the news is filled with DUI cases where the idiot perp has literally dozens of prior stops. __________________ "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." — Thomas Paine

02-12-13, 10:51 AM	#15
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,257 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	It will be deemed as a crime of passion. Such sudden rage he took the route he did. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

02-12-13, 03:14 AM	#3
Tribesman Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Tricky one. Temporary insanity is the most likely route, though walkng to get the weapon then disposing of it shows a level of calculated action. Looks like a verdict of murder is the likely outcome, lets just hope they don't have mandatory sentencing.

02-12-13, 08:02 AM	#11
Tribesman Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Floppy & Berbunch. I know, I have attacked people after an accident without even the added weight of personal fatalities involved, it is easy to flip out. In one case I still wish I had actually killed the bastard involved. But the core of the issue is that you must still be held accountable for your actions.