An Errant Course
One of the lead investigators in the November, 2008 double homicides in St. Johns, Arizona was Saint Johns Police Department (SJPD) Sergeant Lucas Rodriguez. During the Detention hearing for the eight‑year‑old suspect on 7 November, 2008, he gave evasive, and misleading testimony. His behavior in the investigation was a bit strange in some aspects.
On the day of the homicides, Rodriguez obtained a search warrant from Judge Butch Gunnels. But, Rodriguez waited until the following day to execute the warrant. Late in the evening of that day, he and SFPD Lieutenant Donald Jones took a three‑hour drive to San Carlos. The putative intent was to interview the widow of Tim Romans, one of the victims.
The San Carlos tribal police were informed of the trip. A tribal police officer escorted the two to the home of Romans’ mother.
It would have been a better use of resources to have the police in San Carlos do the contact and interview. That would have been done by persons familiar with the area and people. The Saint Johns’ personnel could then concentrate resources on the immediate crime scene and witness statements and evaluations.
As it turned out, after the long drive, the officers woke the mother of the victim and informed her. But, the widow lived in Mesa, not San Carlos. Investigators did not explain their error.
Now Rodriguez had to rely on a telephone call to inform the widow of the death rather than a more personable face to face visit. This seems to be odd protocol.
It was after this telephone conversation that Rodriguez told Jones of the allegation against the child. The reports of Jones and Rodriguez give some statements about the conversion, but Jones was not involved except by hearsay.
Incident Report #1, by Rodriguez, was dated 05 November, 2008 but contained information from the following day. In this report, Rodriguez claimed that Tanya Romans told him that she was on the telephone with her husband when he told her the name of the child but she did not hear the voice until after Tim Romans stated something was wrong inside the house. She told Sergeant Rodriguez that the child was lying if he said he wasn’t present.
Jones also wrote of the Rodriguez telephone call in his “Supplemental Report #5” dated 15 November, 2008. Jones said Rodriguez stated that Mrs. Romans recognized the child’s voice because she had visited his home once. That is what Rodriguez testified at the detention hearing.
The written statement from Tanya Romans, obtained the following day, stated that she asked her husband who’s voice she heard and her husband gave the child’s name. But, she also said the other victim was entering the house as she and her husband spoke and she heard the voice shortly thereafter.
The Jones report also detailed that during the return trip to St. Johns, theories were developed that either the child was the perpetrator or he was present as a witness. Police claimed that the boy was not a suspect which is contrary to the Jones report. Also, the transcript of the interrogation of the child shows Apache County Sheriff’s Commander Matrese Avila insisting that the child fired a weapon at the victims early in the interview.
So, during the first fourteen hours of the investigation, there was a two‑man six‑hour road trip that yielded a telephone call to the widow and no direct police interview. The two officers could have stayed home.
During the detention hearing on 7 November, Rodriguez testified that the child had given information in the interrogation that matched the locations of shell casing and wounds. That was a false statement and when defense attorney Benjamin Brewer pressed him, he backed up to only the statement by the widow as probable cause for suspecting the child. He also claimed the inconsistencies from the child was evidence but had to admit he was using gossip for that.
A witness from across the street from the home where the homicides occurred gave written statement on the day of the murders. Rodriguez testified at the detention hearing that he had no contact with that witness.
When the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) became involved in the case later in November, Rodriguez told Detective David Cates that the after the neighbor heard popping sounds, he saw child playing with his dog in the child’s front yard then walk away. Rodriguez did not say that he contacted the neighbor.
When the neighbor was interviewed by DPS Officer Andrew Barmore on 17 November, 2008, he gave a similar statement except he saw the child standing rather than playing. He said he saw the child about two minutes after he heard the popping sounds.
But, the written statement given on the day of the murders by the witness stated he did not see anything when he looked outside. So, where did Rodriguez get his belated information. There is no report of anyone contacting the neighbor to obtain this altered information.
Did Rodriguez visit the neighbor and convince him to change his account? How did he come by this statement? Who had the witness change his account?
That documentation is missing.
by Brian McCorkle
in category St. Johns Arizona Double Homicide
