Judge refuses to suppress statements in Rogers murder case

Thursday, June 21, 2007 2:45 PM CDT

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Statements made by two men who could face the death penalty for the 2006 shooting death of a motorist should not be suppressed, a circuit court judge has ruled.

Attorneys for Serafin Sandoval-Vega and Manuel Enrique Camacho had argued that their clients didn't understand English and that their statements to police after the shooting weren't made voluntarily.

The two are accused in the death of Daniel Ray Francis, a diesel mechanic for J.B. Hunt trucking company who was fatally wounded May 6, 2006, while sitting in a car with a co-worker at a stoplight in Rogers. The shooting left him brain dead and he was taken off life support the next day.

Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Keith refused Wednesday to suppress statements made by Sandoval-Vega and Camacho.

"Why are we kidding ourselves here?" Keith said in his ruling. "It was clear they understood English. I'm clearly satisfied language is not the issue ... their statement was voluntary."

Keith plans a jury trial in November and set a July 17 hearing to consider whether to sever the two men's cases.

A third person, Roxana Hernandez, 22, is charged with being an accomplice to capital murder and accomplice to a terroristic act.

Defense lawyers argued that the accused were not informed until two days after their arrest of their right to contact the Mexican consulate. Sandoval-Vega and Hernandez are resident aliens of the United States, while Camacho is an illegal alien with an outstanding order of removal.

Information from: The Morning News, http://www.nwaonline.net/

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

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