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Friday, August 17, 2001
Jurors hear escapee's confession to an officer's murder
George Rivas said he deserves to die for shooting an Irving cop to death
By Susan Parrott
Associated Press
   DALLAS - In a 21-page confession, prison escapee George Rivas pleaded for forgiveness and said he deserves to die for fatally shooting an Irving police officer.
   Jurors saw copies of Rivas' police statement on the fourth day of his capital murder trial for the death of Aubrey Hawkins.
   Rivas wrote that after leading six others in the robbery of an Oshman's Sporting Goods store, he waited for them to exit the rear of the store when Hawkins drove up in his patrol car.
   "I then pulled out my gun and yelled at him to put his hands up," Rivas wrote. "He could hear me but wouldn't comply. He moved his right arm down and forward. I thought he was going for his gun. Please forgive me but I shot through the windshield and hit his right shoulder."
   'Sudden gunfire'
   Rivas said he then approached the driver's side window and fired again at Hawkins' left shoulder.
   "I screamed again for him to raise his hands. He did so. All of a sudden gunfire erupted from what appeared to be everywhere," he wrote, adding that he was shot twice before reaching his escape vehicle.
   Prosecutors said Hawkins was shot a total of 11 times with five different weapons. He was then pulled from his car and run over by a vehicle two times.
   Rivas asked Hawkins' family for forgiveness
   "I never intended to hurt anyone. I make no excuses for my actions and take full responsibility for them," he wrote. "I deserve death and I hope when I am put to death it will give you some sort of peace of mind."
   'I have no forgiveness'
   Hawkins' widow, Lori, sat with an angry expression on her face as an attorney read the statement aloud.
   "I have no forgiveness for him. I don't know. I never will," she said after testimony Thursday.
   Irving Police Sgt. Jeff Spivey testified he took the statement January 22, after Rivas voluntarily waived his rights to have an attorney present.
   Rivas is the first of six prison escapees brought to trial for Hawkins' murder. All face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
   Although Rivas wrote he would not fight prosecution, his lawyers said at the beginning of the trial that he "pleads mute." The judge entered a plea of innocent.
   Defending crimes
   Rivas' lawyers have said their client never intended to harm Hawkins, and only wanted to disarm the officer when others started shooting in "panic mode."
   Under cross-examination of Spivey, defense attorney Karo Johnson said Rivas was truthful with investigators and even cried when he learned one of the fugitives committed suicide rather than surrender to authorities in Colorado.
   During the Oshman's robbery, Rivas did not take money designated for employee parties and told workers he would not hurt them if they cooperated, Johnson said.
   "I have never used the word 'kill' in a robbery. I realize it makes little difference but no one was supposed to be hurt," Rivas wrote.
   Equipment found
   Irving police investigator Steven Hazard testified that 47 seconds elapsed from the time Hawkins pulled his squad car behind the store until the suspects drove away.
   Prosecutors also said the escapees were well prepared for a shootout when they were apprehended in Colorado a month after the robbery, armed with sawed-off shotguns, police radio scanners and night vision equipment.
   FBI agent James Mahoney testified authorities found 22 weapons in the gang's recreational vehicle, along with scanners, two-way radios, a security guard cap and more than $11,000 in cash.
   Another 13 handguns, including Hawkins' department-issued weapon, night vision equipment and another $11,000 in cash were found in the escapees' sport-utility vehicle.
   The weapons matched those stolen from the Oshman's, prosecutors said.
   Thirteen Smith and Wesson pistols, identical to those used by guards at the Connally Unit in South Texas from which the convicts escaped Dec. 13, also were found in a storage compartment underneath the RV.

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