softheart
05-31-2003, 03:59 PM
Sat, May. 31, 2003
Fifth escapee set for trial in slaying of officer
By Mike Lee, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Two-and-a-half years after he surrendered to police, limping from a bullet
wound, the youngest of the Connally Unit prison escapees is scheduled to
go on trial Monday for his role in the killing of an Irving police officer.
Randy Halprin, 25, could face the death penalty if convicted of the
capital murder charge. He is the fifth of the convicts to stand trial in
the slaying of officer Aubrey Hawkins. The first four were sentenced to
death. One of the seven escapees committed suicide.
Dallas County prosecutors intend to rely on the same evidence as the four
previous trials. Dozens of witnesses identified Halprin and the six other
escapees during the breakout in South Texas and during the Christmas Eve
2000 robbery at the Oshman's Supersports USA in Irving, according to
testimony in previous trials.
Hawkins was shot 11 times and run over with a getaway car as he responded
to a call about suspicious people at the store.
Previous testimony has shown that five guns were used to shoot Hawkins,
lead prosecutor Toby Shook said. Police believe Halprin was involved in
the shooting because he was hit by a stray bullet.
Halprin has denied shooting Hawkins. His court-appointed lawyers, George
Ashford and Ed King, challenge much of the state's case.
"That's total speculation on their part as to who did the shooting,"
Ashford said.
Ashford and King have asked state District Judge Vickers Cunningham to
throw out the statement Halprin gave to police after he was arrested in
Colorado, where the escapees hid for about a month. Halprin and the other
escapees were questioned without lawyers present, even though attorneys
from the public defender's office in Colorado Springs had asked to be
present, according to testimony in previous trials.
The defense might also raise Halprin's background during the trial,
although Ashford declined to comment on specifics.
Halprin and his brother were removed from an abusive home and put in state
custody. When Halprin was 6, he and his brother were adopted by a married
couple in Dalworthington Gardens.
He began to have behavior problems in junior high school, and his adopted
parents put him in a boarding school in Kentucky. The school expelled him
for running away.
Shortly after, he began living on the streets. During a stint in a
homeless shelter in Arlington, he befriended a young woman and moved with
her to an apartment in southwest Fort Worth.
In August 1996, he beat and kicked the woman's 16-month-old son to make
him stop crying, according to court records. The child was severely
injured, and Halprin was sentenced to 30 years in prison for causing
serious bodily injury to a child.
Halprin worked in the maintenance department at the Connally Unit along
with George Rivas, the ringleader of the escape.
On Dec. 13, 2000, the seven inmates overpowered a group of prison workers
and stole their clothes. Posing as maintenance workers, they then
overpowered the lone guard at the back gate, stole a cache of guns and
drove away in a prison truck.
After the robbery in Irving, the escapees fled to Colorado. They bought a
recreational vehicle with money stolen during the Oshman's robbery and
settled in a campsite in Woodland Park.
A neighbor recognized the group after their pictures were broadcast on Fox
TV's America's Most Wanted. Rivas and two other escapees were arrested
Jan. 22, 2001, as they pulled into a gas station.
Halprin and another escapee, Larry Harper, were still inside the
recreational vehicle when FBI agents and sheriff's deputies arrived. The
two inmates began loading guns, apparently preparing for a shootout,
according to previous testimony.
Halprin, whose wounded foot still had not healed, surrendered after a
series of shouted negotiations. Harper demanded to talk to his father, and
he killed himself a short time later.
-------
Source : Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fifth escapee set for trial in slaying of officer
By Mike Lee, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Two-and-a-half years after he surrendered to police, limping from a bullet
wound, the youngest of the Connally Unit prison escapees is scheduled to
go on trial Monday for his role in the killing of an Irving police officer.
Randy Halprin, 25, could face the death penalty if convicted of the
capital murder charge. He is the fifth of the convicts to stand trial in
the slaying of officer Aubrey Hawkins. The first four were sentenced to
death. One of the seven escapees committed suicide.
Dallas County prosecutors intend to rely on the same evidence as the four
previous trials. Dozens of witnesses identified Halprin and the six other
escapees during the breakout in South Texas and during the Christmas Eve
2000 robbery at the Oshman's Supersports USA in Irving, according to
testimony in previous trials.
Hawkins was shot 11 times and run over with a getaway car as he responded
to a call about suspicious people at the store.
Previous testimony has shown that five guns were used to shoot Hawkins,
lead prosecutor Toby Shook said. Police believe Halprin was involved in
the shooting because he was hit by a stray bullet.
Halprin has denied shooting Hawkins. His court-appointed lawyers, George
Ashford and Ed King, challenge much of the state's case.
"That's total speculation on their part as to who did the shooting,"
Ashford said.
Ashford and King have asked state District Judge Vickers Cunningham to
throw out the statement Halprin gave to police after he was arrested in
Colorado, where the escapees hid for about a month. Halprin and the other
escapees were questioned without lawyers present, even though attorneys
from the public defender's office in Colorado Springs had asked to be
present, according to testimony in previous trials.
The defense might also raise Halprin's background during the trial,
although Ashford declined to comment on specifics.
Halprin and his brother were removed from an abusive home and put in state
custody. When Halprin was 6, he and his brother were adopted by a married
couple in Dalworthington Gardens.
He began to have behavior problems in junior high school, and his adopted
parents put him in a boarding school in Kentucky. The school expelled him
for running away.
Shortly after, he began living on the streets. During a stint in a
homeless shelter in Arlington, he befriended a young woman and moved with
her to an apartment in southwest Fort Worth.
In August 1996, he beat and kicked the woman's 16-month-old son to make
him stop crying, according to court records. The child was severely
injured, and Halprin was sentenced to 30 years in prison for causing
serious bodily injury to a child.
Halprin worked in the maintenance department at the Connally Unit along
with George Rivas, the ringleader of the escape.
On Dec. 13, 2000, the seven inmates overpowered a group of prison workers
and stole their clothes. Posing as maintenance workers, they then
overpowered the lone guard at the back gate, stole a cache of guns and
drove away in a prison truck.
After the robbery in Irving, the escapees fled to Colorado. They bought a
recreational vehicle with money stolen during the Oshman's robbery and
settled in a campsite in Woodland Park.
A neighbor recognized the group after their pictures were broadcast on Fox
TV's America's Most Wanted. Rivas and two other escapees were arrested
Jan. 22, 2001, as they pulled into a gas station.
Halprin and another escapee, Larry Harper, were still inside the
recreational vehicle when FBI agents and sheriff's deputies arrived. The
two inmates began loading guns, apparently preparing for a shootout,
according to previous testimony.
Halprin, whose wounded foot still had not healed, surrendered after a
series of shouted negotiations. Harper demanded to talk to his father, and
he killed himself a short time later.
-------
Source : Fort Worth Star-Telegram