Killer gets 15 years, over Travis prosecutors' protests
Judge Charlie Baird cites fairness, says other defendant got only 13 years via plea deal.
By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
After striking a deal the day before that gave Raul Acedo's co-defendant a 13-year prison sentence for murder in the 2006 death of Timothy Neal Shroyer Jr., prosecutors argued Tuesday that Acedo deserved a much harsher fate in the case: 40 years.
Acedo was a frequent methamphetamine user with a prison record whose gun was used to shoot Shroyer near the Austin airport on July 1, 2006, they argued. He admitted running over Shroyer after he was shot and fought police for the gun when they arrested him a day later.
Whether it was Acedo, 30, or co-defendant Robert Brett Hall, 20, who shot the 28-year-old Shroyer, prosecutor John Hunt argued, "Mr. Acedo represents a serious danger to the civilians who are outside these walls."
State District Judge Charlie Baird disagreed and sent Acedo to prison for 15 years. The sentence was the minimum allowed given Acedo's criminal record and came after a spirited give-and-take between prosecutors and the judge.
The sentence was met with disdain by Shroyer's family, who cursed the judge on their way from the courthouse.
"They shot him. They ran him over!" said Mitzi Candelas, Shroyer's sister.
"That's not justice," said Shroyer's father, Timothy Neal Shroyer Sr.
Acedo could have gotten up to life in prison.
Baird noted from the bench that the only evidence of who did the shooting came from Acedo, who pinned it on Hall, and from a friend of Hall's, who said Hall took credit for the shooting. Baird asked whether giving Acedo a significantly longer sentence would be unfair.
"It floors me to how you could think this is worth 40 years," Baird told Hunt, "when you yourself put the value on the case yesterday to 13 years."
The case against Hall was resolved with a plea bargain the day of trial. Prosecutors said they agreed to the light sentence because of "proof issues." One problem was Acedo's refusal to testify against Hall, they said.
Acedo pleaded guilty to murder in August without a plea deal, leaving the sentencing up to Baird.
After his arrest, Acedo cooperated with police, homicide Detective Richard Faithful testified, leading them to a Wal-Mart in Marble Falls where they dumped a tooth of Shroyer's nearby and he and Hall bought more bullets.
But prosecutors noted that Acedo failed to mention the shooting of another man at a North Austin Exxon station the day Shroyer was killed. Acedo pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and received a 12-year sentence, which is to run at the same time as the murder sentence. That man has recovered from his injuries.
A friend of Acedo and Shroyer's testified that the pair had a long-standing beef that could have involved methamphetamine, which the two regularly used and Acedo sometimes sold. Acedo once gave the friend a bullet to give to Shroyer as a warning, she said.
"Mr. Acedo," prosecutor Gregg Cox said, "could have turned this madness off at any time."
