Ronnie "Romeo" Pinkerton, 48, faces two to 20 years in prison for burglary of a building, a charge that was enhanced from a state jail felony to a second-degree felony because of his prior convictions.
A Smith County jury was set to be selected Tuesday, but Pinkerton waived his right to a jury trial and elected to have a bench trial before 7th District Judge Kerry Russell. The judge found him guilty of the charge after about an hour of testimony.
Assistant Smith County District Attorney Jason Parrish said Tyler Police officers Scott Behrend and Daniel Richardson responded to a silent alarm at Griffin Elementary on July 30. In a portable building on the campus, a window had been broken and the officers heard noises coming from inside.
When Pinkerton opened the door, the officers ordered him to get on the ground but he ran and scaled a fence before they caught him, Parrish said, adding that the defendant had stacked up computer equipment by the door inside the school building.
Russell will sentence Pinkerton, who is represented by Tonda Curry, on June 12.
Pinkerton is also accused of abducting five people from a Kilgore KFC restaurant in 1983 and then shooting them execution-style in a Rusk County pasture. His trial is set for August 2007.
A Rusk County grand jury indicted Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield, 45, in November for five counts of capital murder.
On Sept. 23, 1983, five people were abducted from a KFC restaurant in Kilgore and taken to a rural oil field in Rusk County where they were shot in the head and left for dead. An oil field worker discovered the bodies the next day.
Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, were found shot to death. All five were shot at least twice.
Casey Knaupp covers county, state and federal courts. She can be reached at 903.596.6289. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com"> news@tylerpaper.com
FAQ
Search Forums
Log in
Register
