Shawna Forde, left, in court Monday in Tucson, Ariz. (A.E. Araiza / Associated Press) |
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Tucson — The leader of an anti-illegal-immigrant group was convicted Monday in a home invasion robbery that left a 9-year-old girl and her father dead in what prosecutors said was an attempt to steal drug money to fund the group's operations.
A Tucson jury found Shawna Forde, 42, guilty of murder in the May 2009 killings of Raul Flores, 29, and his daughter Brisenia at their home in Arivaca, a desert community 10 miles north of Mexico.
The jury deliberated for seven hours over two days. Forde was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of Flores' wife and related aggravated assault and robbery counts.
The jury will return to Pima County Superior Court on Tuesday to consider whether Forde should get the death penalty.
Her lawyer, Eric Larsen, argued that Forde was never inside the home. Prosecutors disputed that contention, saying Forde was the ringleader of the operation and the law was clear.
"She didn't put a gun to Brisenia's head … but she was the one in charge," prosecutor Rick Unklesbay told jurors. "Because of that, you must hold her accountable."
Forde is the leader of the Minutemen American Defense, a small border watch group. Prosecutors argued that she planned the attack to help fund its operations.
Authorities said Forde and two men dressed as law enforcement officers forced their way into Flores' home and then shot him, his daughter and his wife, Gina Gonzalez, who survived her injuries after getting into a gun battle with the attackers.
Flores was thought to be involved with drug trafficking, police said, but officers don't believe the assailants found much cash or drugs in the home.
A 911 recording released by the Pima County Sheriff's Department captured Gonzalez pleading for help after her husband and daughter were shot. She was heard crying out in pain from a gunshot wound and then becoming frantic as the attackers returned.
A Tucson jury found Shawna Forde, 42, guilty of murder in the May 2009 killings of Raul Flores, 29, and his daughter Brisenia at their home in Arivaca, a desert community 10 miles north of Mexico.
The jury deliberated for seven hours over two days. Forde was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of Flores' wife and related aggravated assault and robbery counts.
The jury will return to Pima County Superior Court on Tuesday to consider whether Forde should get the death penalty.
Her lawyer, Eric Larsen, argued that Forde was never inside the home. Prosecutors disputed that contention, saying Forde was the ringleader of the operation and the law was clear.
"She didn't put a gun to Brisenia's head … but she was the one in charge," prosecutor Rick Unklesbay told jurors. "Because of that, you must hold her accountable."
Forde is the leader of the Minutemen American Defense, a small border watch group. Prosecutors argued that she planned the attack to help fund its operations.
Authorities said Forde and two men dressed as law enforcement officers forced their way into Flores' home and then shot him, his daughter and his wife, Gina Gonzalez, who survived her injuries after getting into a gun battle with the attackers.
Flores was thought to be involved with drug trafficking, police said, but officers don't believe the assailants found much cash or drugs in the home.
A 911 recording released by the Pima County Sheriff's Department captured Gonzalez pleading for help after her husband and daughter were shot. She was heard crying out in pain from a gunshot wound and then becoming frantic as the attackers returned.
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