Thread: Two men last to be sentenced in killing of 15-year-old Texas

Two men last to be sentenced in killing of 15-year-old Texas girl at Oregon City party
by Rick Bella, The Oregonian
Tuesday July 07, 2009, 8:25 PM

OREGON CITY -- Nothing in Dani Countryman's short life was easy.

As a young kid, she spent a lot of time with her grandmother, seeking refuge from the instability in her parents' home in Kaufman, Texas, a small town outside Dallas.

As a teen, she was implicated in a crack cocaine case against her father.

Around the same time, Texas authorities said she was the victim of sexual abuse by a 47-year-old man, when she was 12.

Before either case could go to court, Countryman was strangled during a drug-fueled orgy at an apartment complex south of Milwaukie two years ago, the last night of a visit with her sister.

She was just 15.

"This was a girl who had a lot of challenges in her life," said Chris Owen, a Clackamas County deputy district attorney. "It wasn't easy."

But Tuesday, the legal system gave her case a final day in court, sending the last two defendants to prison.

By that time, Countryman's case already had played a role in the national debate over illegal immigration and crime. In direct response, Clackamas County adopted new policies and now alerts federal immigration authorities of all illegal immigrants charged with crimes.

Pausing so a court-appointed translator could whisper in Spanish, Circuit Judge Robert R. Selander on Tuesday sentenced Alejandro Emeterio "Alex" Rivera Gamboa and his cousin, Gilberto Javier "Gabe" Arellano Gamboa to prison for their respective roles in Countryman's death.

Rivera Gamboa, 26, was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 35 years. He earlier pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse.

Arellano Gamboa, 25, pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted first-degree sexual abuse and hindering prosecution. He will serve five years, 10 months in prison.

Both are in the country illegally and will be deported to Mexico after they have served their sentences.

"You treated my granddaughter like a doormat, stomped on her," said Sandra Wright, Countryman's grandmother, to Rivera Gamboa. "I'm sorry if your family is suffering, but you ripped our life totally apart... I hope you remember her every day that you live, because we won't forget."

Rivera Gamboa, speaking through an interpreter, apologized to all.

"I would like to say I am sorry," he said. "I wasn't my intention, but I wasn't able to measure the consequences, due to the alcohol. I have destroyed that young girl, that of her family and my own life."

Arellano Gamboa also apologized.

"I am deeply remorseful for my actions toward Dani Countryman," he said, also speaking through an interpreter. "I'm really very sorry."

According to court documents, Countryman was wrapping up a monthlong vacation in Oregon. Her last night, July 27, 2007, she and her sister, Ashley, attended a party at the Balboa Apartments, 2717 S.E. Courtney Road, in the Oak Grove area south of Milwaukie. The party, fueled by beer, rum, vodka and marijuana, spun out of control as the night wore on.

Countryman had sex with several partners, eventually winding up in a neighboring apartment with Arellano Gamboa and Rivera Gamboa. By all accounts, Countryman was attracted to Arellano Gamboa.

But after they had begun to have sex, she apparently had second thoughts and began to fight him off.

That's when Rivera Gamboa placed his foot on her throat and stepped down hard, killing her.

The men then brought her lifeless body back to the other apartment, covered her with a blanket, and left her on the floor among the passed-out partyers.

When Ashley Countryman returned the next morning, she shook Dani to awaken her, shrieking when she realized she was dead.

After an investigation, Arellano Gamboa and Rivera Gamboa were charged with her murder. However, the case against Arellano Gamboa became considerably weaker after defense attorneys successfully had statements he made excluded during pretrial motions.

However, Owen said the plea agreement was the best they could do under the circumstances, and the Countryman family agreed.

By that time, others who took part in the orgy already had been convicted and sentenced. Shon Jerrod Estes, 23, was convicted of third-degree sodomy, along with James Sowders, 36, and Heather Walsh, 28, whose apartment was used for the party. Lee "Tito" Lindsay, 23, was convicted of third-degree attempted rape.

Shortly after Countryman's death, it was revealed that Rivera Gamboa had been convicted of drunken driving but had not been deported. In response, Clackamas County authorities sifted through 700 drunken-driving cases and found 62 defendants who were not U.S citizens. The names were sent to federal immigration officials for review.

In addition, District Attorney John Foote began reporting all foreign-born non-U.S. citizens accused of breaking the law.

http://oneoldvet.com/

www.oregonlive.com

Added to Homepage with slightly amended title:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4364--0-0.html

lets see, do they get as little as SIX YEARS for two murders, like the drunk driver who killed the producer and director of "Porky's" and "A Christmas Story"

OR

Will they give them more like 25 years or life without parole.
Does Oregon have the death penalty???