RUSK, Texas _ A 19-year-old man was sentenced to death last Friday for the 2002 murder of a disabled man, who was killed after he and two convenience store employees were kidnapped.
The Cherokee County jury returned the verdict last Friday morning. Richard Cobb had earlier been convicted of capital murder.
Cobb and an accomplice were accused of robbing a convenience store in Rusk and kidnapping two female employees and a male customer. The victims were taken to a field, where one of the women was assaulted.
Cobb then shot the man, Kenneth Vandever.
Authorities allege co-defendant Buenka Adams, 20, shot the two females. Vandever died of his injuries, but the two store employees survived the attack and testified against Cobb. Adams awaits trial.
``This sends a message that juries pay attention to evidence and details,'' Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth said in a story in Saturday's Tyler Morning-Telegraph. ``I think the jury reached the correct decision in both phases of this trial based on the evidence. I am pleased with their decision.''
Vandever, 37, had the mental capacity of a child after being injured in a car accident, his father Don Vandever said.
He said the jury made the right decision in giving Cobb the death penalty.
``I am relieved somewhat, because I know he (Cobb) got what he deserved,'' Vandever said.
``When he killed Kenneth, he basically killed a child, because after his accident he was like a child. Kenneth never knew what was going on that night,'' he said.
Defense attorneys argued against the death penalty for Cobb, telling jurors that he was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and suffered abuse as a young child. However, state and defense expert witnesses testified that Cobb was capable of differentiating between right and wrong.
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