Murder charges in revenge killing by father of children slain by drunk driver

[ReynardMuldrake]

I know how I would vote if I was on that jury...

An Alvin father remained in the Brazoria County Jail Monday, charged with murder in the alleged revenge killing of a drunk driver who plowed into his truck, killing his two young sons last December.

David Barajas Sr., 31, a construction worker, is being held in lieu of $450,000 bail in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Jose Inez Banda minutes after the Dec. 7 crash that claimed the lives of Barajas' 11- and 12-year-old sons.

"The whole incident is extremely tragic," said Brazoria County sheriff's lead investigator, Dominick Sanders. "The grand jury reviewed it and has indicted him for murder."

Tests showed Banda's blood alcohol was twice the legal limit when his Chevrolet Malibu rear-ended the Barajas' family's Ford 250 truck that had run out of gas on an unlit county road near Alvin, investigators said. The inebriated driver failed to swerve or even apply his brakes before plowing into the truck and crushing Barajas' sons, David Jr., 12, and Caleb, 11.

The boys had been helping their father push their disabled truck and were less than 150 yards from their driveway when they were hit. Caleb was pronounced dead at the scene, and David Jr. died shortly after arrival at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Their father escaped serious injury.

Barajas' wife, Cindy, and their 8-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son, had remained seated inside the truck and were not hurt.

Several minutes after the crash, 911 operators began receiving phone calls about the accident and recorded a sound of gunfire. Investigators arrived at the scene to find Banda slumped in the front seat of his car with a bullet wound to his head. He never regained consciousness.

The weapon used in the shooting has not been found, said Brazoria County Sheriff's investigator Dominick Sanders.

During a two-month investigation, authorities located a witness who reported seeing David Barajas walk from the crash scene to his nearby home and return to Banda's car, after which the witness heard gunshots.

The witness was not close enough to see if Barajas had a weapon in his hand, Sanders said.

Investigators later searched Barajas' home, where they found an empty holster and some unused ammunition but no gun, Sanders said.

Both Barajas' and Banda's hands were checked for gun residue, but tests have not yet been completed.

DNA testing also remains underway on blood samples taken from Banda's vehicle.

A Brazoria County grand jury reviewed the evidence and heard testimony from Barajas before indicting him Friday for murder.

"His testimony is sealed and no statement about it can be released at this time," said Sanders.

Shortly after the accident, Barajas told relatives that he could not recall anything beyond rushing to the aid of his sons.

"It was worse than any movie scene because it was real," Barajas' brother, Gabriel, said. "The next thing my brother remembered was waking up in a hospital naked" after his clothing, drenched in his sons' blood, had been removed.

On Monday, Gabriel Barajas was shocked to learn his brother was in jail.

"I just knew he had been working to move forward in his life and take care of his two other children," he said.

Other Barajas family members could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Banda's family has kept vigil, waiting for answers, by posting remembrances on a "rest in peace" Facebook page.

Felicia, Banda's wife, now raising their infant daughter alone, posted several comments just before the murder indictment was announced.

She wrote about missing Banda more than ever since his death two months earlier and told how she still proudly wears his picture on the back of her shirts and sweaters to remember him, "Because you still mean the world to me."

The Facebook page earlier had been a battleground, with angry postings by supporters of Banda, who complained of a vigilante killing, and supporters of Barajas, who described the boys' deaths as murders.

Sanders said grand jurors rejected a "crime of passion" defense because Barajas had time to reflect about what he was planning to do when investigators contend he went home to get a gun.

Barajas' neighbors say the family has moved from the house where they lived when the accident occurred.

"There's still two wooden crosses on the roadside where their boys died," said neighbor Michelle Tombs. "I bought some more permanent ceramic crosses to replace them. It's very sad. Their grandparents, who live across the street, hardly come outside much any more."

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...er-4270089.php

[BWillie]

This are the kind of cases where the local PD is sympathetic of the dad, so I'm sure they don't investigate the case with the same scrutiny as they would in a "normal" case

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

This is the opinion of someone who definitely doesn't have children. If this would have happened to my son, I would be in prison. They would have been able to identify me as the killer because my urine would have been all over this piece of shit drunk driver. I would have shot him and then pissed all over his ****ing corpse.

And you are a ****ing idiot then.

The drunk driver didn't go out of his way to try to kill children. He wasn't like well time to go plow into some children and kill them. It was a grossly negligent accident by the drunk driver yes, and he should have been prosecuted heavy handedly by the law, but this wouldn't even entail being executed.

Killing this guy doesn't change anything. It is over and done with, there is nothing you can do about it except be the best father you can be to your remaining family....and that doesn't entail killing a guy. jesus christ.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

This is the opinion of someone who definitely doesn't have children. If this would have happened to my son, I would be in prison. They would have been able to identify me as the killer because my urine would have been all over this piece of shit drunk driver. I would have shot him and then pissed all over his ****ing corpse.

Sure.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by BWillie

And you are a ****ing idiot then.

The drunk driver didn't go out of his way to try to kill children. He wasn't like well time to go plow into some children and kill them. It was a grossly negligent accident by the drunk driver yes, and he should have been prosecuted heavy handedly by the law, but this wouldn't even entail being executed.

Killing this guy doesn't change anything. It is over and done with, there is nothing you can do about it except be the best father you can be to your remaining family....and that doesn't entail killing a guy. jesus christ.

Have some ****ing kids and come talk to me about how much of an idiot I am. The driver did go out of his way to kill someone. He knowingly and willingly got into a vehicle when he was well above the legal limit to drive. Killing this guy got another scumbag off of the road forever. That is being a good father to his other kids. He also saved the taxpayers money by not having to house this asshole in prison for the next 20 years. It's a win-win in my book.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by BWillie

And you are a ****ing idiot then.

The drunk driver didn't go out of his way to try to kill children. He wasn't like well time to go plow into some children and kill them. It was a grossly negligent accident by the drunk driver yes, and he should have been prosecuted heavy handedly by the law, but this wouldn't even entail being executed.

Killing this guy doesn't change anything. It is over and done with, there is nothing you can do about it except be the best father you can be to your remaining family....and that doesn't entail killing a guy. jesus christ.

So you watch two of your children get run over and you remain calm and say, "well, at least I have two more"? The guy would have been out of his mind. Literally, temporarily insane.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Have some ****ing kids and come talk to me about how much of an idiot I am. The driver did go out of his way to kill someone. He knowingly and willingly got into a vehicle when he was well above the legal limit to drive. Killing this guy got another scumbag off of the road forever. That is being a good father to his other kids. He also saved the taxpayers money by not having to house this asshole in prison for the next 20 years. It's a win-win in my book.

The problem with this is you are being results oriented. By your logic, anybody that has received a DUI deserves to be executed, by you. And you are fine with that. Many people have had DUI and were fortunate enough to not hit and kill anybody, wrong place, wrong time...should they all be executed too?

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by kepp

So you watch two of your children get run over and you remain calm and say, "well, at least I have two more"? The guy would have been out of his mind. Literally, temporarily insane.

That still isn't not guilty. It's manslaughter.

I guess it depends on the person, everybody reacts differently when a loved one passes away. If my parents were murdered and killed, I wouldn't be one of those sickos that goes down to the pen to watch the murderer fry on the electric chair while cheering. It's over and done with, I would grieve, I would maybe make a foundation for them. I wouldn't go shoot the murderer while he's on the stand in the court room.

[Pablo]

You just need to have children so you can contemplate killing someone and pissing on their body. Sounds tough at least.

[RockChalk]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

This is the opinion of someone who definitely doesn't have children. If this would have happened to my son, I would be in prison. They would have been able to identify me as the killer because my urine would have been all over this piece of shit drunk driver. I would have shot him and then pissed all over his ****ing corpse.

Well then you could add Public Urination to your list of charges. Some states make that a pretty serious misdemeanor and put such offenders on Sex Offender lists.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by BWillie

The problem with this is you are being results oriented. By your logic, anybody that has received a DUI deserves to be executed, by you. And you are fine with that. Many people have had DUI and were fortunate enough to not hit and kill anybody, wrong place, wrong time...should they all be executed too?

He's not saying anything like that. He's saying that if a drunk driver killed his kids, he would take matters into his own hands.

[Bowser]

I'm not condoning murder in the least here, but I understand the straight up rage the guy must have felt. Have kids THEN see what your opinion is on the subject.

That said, the prosecutors must have been OJ level bad, no matter ho wmuch sympathy the jury had for the guy.

[FishingRod]

If it shows that the car being pushed was in a situation where a normal sober driver should have been able to avoid running into it then I would find a way to justify letting the Dad off somehow. Temporary insanity , something like that.

If it were shown that due to the conditions, like being dark , perhaps they were just around a curve and a average sober driver could not have been expected to avoid the crash then the Father owns a large portion of the fault and I could have gone with manslaughter. I mean what if it was Denzel Washington from the Movie Flight??? could have been all jacked up and done some of that fancy stunt driving to avoid the accident.

[KCUnited]

Tests showed this guy was drunk, I wonder if it was obvious to the dad after the accident, like booze bottles or something? Is killing ok if it's just an accident, or does the guy have to be drunk?

[kepp]

Originally Posted by FishingRod

If it shows that the car being pushed was in a situation where a normal sober driver should have been able to avoid running into it then I would find a way to justify letting the Dad off somehow. Temporary insanity , something like that.

If it were shown that due to the conditions, like being dark , perhaps they were just around a curve and a average sober driver could not have been expected to avoid the crash then the Father owns a large portion of the fault and I could have gone with manslaughter. I mean what if it was Denzel Washington from the Movie Flight??? could have been all jacked up and done some of that fancy stunt driving to avoid the accident.

Yeah, but Denzel takes matters into his own hands too. Like in Training Day.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Tests showed this guy was drunk, I wonder if it was obvious to the dad after the accident, like booze bottles or something? Is killing ok if it's just an accident, or does the guy have to be drunk?

That's a really good question. We know after the fact that he was drunk, but did that play a part at the time it went down?