Press Coverage

April 27, 2006

State of Texas Thinks Man Convicted In 1996 Murder Should Be Granted New Trial

KAMC28 Local News

The State of Texas now says one of two men in prison for the murder of a Littlefield woman deserves a new trial.

Alberto Sifuentes and Jesus Ramirez were both convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison for the 1996 killing of convenience store clerk Evangelina Cruz.

For the last ten years, both men have stood by their stories tht they were not at the Jolly Roger convenience store, where Cruz was murdered that summer night. However, police say they`re sure the men are murderers. On Thursday, all parties came to the same conclusion: one man needs another trial.

Cruz, the mother of four, was working the graveyard shift at the convenience store when she was shot nine times. Shortly after the shooting, police stopped Ramirez and Sifuentes. They were tried and convicted, but DNA evidence never place their prints at the scene. An investigator was labeled a liar and a key alibi was missing in action.

"It's been a long four years for us, but it's been a longer four years for Alberto and Jesus," says Barry McNeil, a Dallas attorney with the firm Haynes and Boone. He took the mens case because he believes the evidence presented at their trials never should have put them behind bars for life.

In a court appearance in August, both men echoed their innocence. Now the same people that wouldn't listen to their story of innocence are questioning the outcome. The Texas Attorney General's Office, the prosecutors of the men's cases agreed on Thursday that Sifuentes needs a new trial.

Ramirez still insists he's innocent. However, he hasn't been granted the same fate.

Defense attorneys say if one gets a new trial, the other must also be given the same relief.

Attorneys from Haynes and Boone will be in Lubbock on Thursday to wrap up the court proceedings. After that, the judge will forward his recommendation to a judge in Littlefield who will pass it on to the Court of Criminal Appeals for a final decision.