From the San Antonio Express-News:
Capital murder convict Gabriel Gonzales returned to the same Bexar County courtroom Monday where, 13 years earlier, a jury had condemned him to die for killing a pawnshop owner during a robbery.
But this time, with his previous sentence voided by an appellate court, he was ordered to serve life in prison.
...
Gonzales was a 20-year-old member of the Crips gang who was known as “Capone” when he and four others were alleged to have stormed into Louella Hilton's Austin Highway store on the morning of June 20, 1994.
During his 1997 capital murder trial, prosecutors described him as the one who planned the heist in an attempt to gather more guns for his gang. He was also accused of serving as the triggerman, shooting Hilton three times through a closed door as she dashed for a 12-gauge shotgun in her office.
Shotgun in her office? Goodness. Having a loaded gun handy is great, but not if you can't get to it. On second thought, though, it's not really handy if you can't reach it, is it? I know everyone says the purpose of a pistol is to fight your way to your rifle -- or in this case, your shotgun, perhaps -- but I am pretty sure a loaded 1911 on Ms. Hilton's hip would have served her well enough to save her life. Maybe she could have put that punk six feet under and saved the state's taxpayers the trouble.
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