A jury convicted a teen-ager of aggravated robbery Wednesday
after she was accused of baiting a 65-year-old man into having sex in exchange for money, then participating in a subsequent attack on
him that left an accomplice dead.
The girl, now 17, was ordered detained. The punishment phase of
her trial is set to begin today before Juvenile District Judge Andy Mireles. She faces up to 40 years in prison.
Although the girl now is an adult legally, the San Antonio Express- News is not printing her name because she was a juvenile at the
time of the offense.
The verdict, returned by a seven-woman, five-man jury after less
than an hour of deliberations, capped two days of testimony in
the guilt-and-innocence phase of the trial.
Defense attorneys Diane Rivera and Joseph Córdova rested their
case without calling any witnesses.
In her closing argument, Rivera maintained that the defendant was
not involved in the attack, she didn't take anything from the
home and she did not encourage others to harm the victim, Borge Hansen.
"What's her participation?
How does all this pertain to her?"
Rivera asked the jury.
But prosecutor Jill Mata said the girl had set up Hansen, and noted
she told police in a statement that she and her friend planned to take Hansen's money without having sex with him.
"Her counsel tells you what she did was stupid . . . this is
criminal," Mata said. "They were out to take advantage of him.''
Most of Wednesday's testimony came from Hansen, an Army retiree
and volunteer Shriner clown who said he was propositioned for
sex after meeting April 8 with two teen-age girls at a Northeast Side
coffee shop.
After both sides agreed on a $100 payment in exchange for sex, the
girls accompanied Hansen to his home. But after spending only a
few minutes at the house in the 4600 block of Iron Weed, the girls declined sex, then wandered throughout his home without permission,
Hansen testified.
As he was driving them back to the coffee shop, Hansen said the
girls threatened to tell his wife about their encounter if he did not
pay them.
A short time later, Hansen said the girls returned to his home with
two men. One of the men attacked him with a knife.
During the struggle, Hansen fatally shot one of
the girls, Jessica Longoria, 17.
Among some of the items taken from him after the struggle were
jewelry, liquor and
power tools. Hansen was not charged
in the incident.
Two men, Charles David Cameron, 17, of the 13200 block of
Larkplace Drive, and Robert Edward Kennedy, also 17, of the 3400
block of Ridge Smoke Street, are awaiting trial on aggravated
robbery charges in state court.