Page 2 • Wednesday, July 7, 1999
Mexican Mafia defendant
sentenced to life in prison
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A federal
judge sentenced a Mexican Mafia mem
ber Tuesday to life in prison for his role in
a series of robberies, drug deals and mur
ders.
Robert “Robe” Herrera was one of 10
defendants convicted in March of racke
teering and racketeering conspiracy. He
was the first to be sentenced. Others face
sentencing this week.
U.S. District Judge Ed Prado ordered
Herrera to serve a life prison sentence for
each of the two counts. The sentences
will run concurrently. Prado imposed no
fine, ruling Herrera had no ability to pay.
“It’s been hard on myself and it’s been
hard on my family,” Herrera told the
judge. “I am finally a.free person because
I’m free from sin from Christ, Jesus.”
Alan Futrell, Herrera’s lawyer, told the
judge Herrera is sorry and that Herrera
was asking the court for forgiveness.
“I will tell you, judge, this young man
has good intellect,” Futrell said. “He’s
somewhat charismatic, and I believe him
to be a sincere believer in the Lord.”
But Prado adhered to federal sentenc
ing guidelines and imposed the life sen
tences federal rules called for based on
Herrera’s case and criminal history.
Herrera plans to appeal his conviction,
his lawyer said.
Herrera, 25, was alleged to have been
a captain in the Texas Mexican Mafia, a
prison-spawned gang-.
The 15 killings prosecutors accused
the organization of committing beginning
in 1994 included the August 1997 shot
gun slayings of five people during a rob
bery at a house in San Antonio.
Prosecutors alleged gang members
sometimes gunned down their own com
rades for disloyalty or for bragging about
their crimes.
The Texas Mexican Mafia, also known
as the “Mexikanemi” or “La Erne,” was
created by primarily Hispanic inmates in
side the state prison system beginning in
the mid-1980s, according to the indictment.
San Antonio became the group’s “cap
ital” though the organization operated
throughout Texas, the indictment alleged.
Prosecutor Bill Baumann said al
though each defendant is different, he an
ticipates life sentences will be imposed
this week on the other convicted Mexican
Mafia members.
Police say jewelry links
railway killer to murder
HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities
have linked jewelry found at sus
pected serial killer Rafael Re-
sendez-Ramirez’s home in Mexi
co to one slaying and hope the
cache will strengthen other cases,
police said Thesday.
Thirteen of 93 pieces surren
dered last month by Resendez-
Ramirez’s common-law wife have
been positively identified by rela
tives of slain Houston school
teacher Noemi Dominguez, Hous
ton police Lt. Ron Walker said.
Dominguez, 23, was found
dead June 5. She was the first of
four people police believe Re-
sendez-Ramirez killed last month
after the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service released
him from custody June 2.
Resendez-Ramirez, a rail-rid
ing drifter who routinely uses
aliases, was wanted in Texas at
that time, but a fingerprint check
on the illegal immigrant did not
alert INS officials near El Paso he
was a fugitive.
Study
Continued from Page 1
preparing for a session. Pirolo said
the leaders are given a manual
which has recommendations, but
they are not required to follow it ex
actly.
“We use games and different
techniques to make the session more
like a group-study [session] instead
of straight teaching,” he said.
S.I. sessions will be offered
three days a week for an hour and
fifteen minutes during the sec
ond summer session. Summer
sessions are geared towards core
curriculum classes, which have a
large amount of provisional stu
dents.
Brandy Hunt, an S.I. leader for
POLS 207, State and Local Govern
ment, and a junior political science
major, said the classes offered dur
ing the summer are defined as high-
risk classes. This means they are
AGGIE RING ORDERS
THE ASSOCIATION OF FORMER STUDENTS
CLAYTON W. WILLIAMS, JR. ALUMNI CENTER
DEADLINE: July 8, 1999
Undergraduate Student Requirements:
1. You must be a degree seeking student and have a total of 2^ undergraduate credit hours reflected on the
Texas A&M University Student Information Management System. (A passed course, which is repeated and
passed, cannot count as additional credit hours.)
60 undergraduate credit hours must have been completed in residence at Texas A&M University if your first
semester at Texas A&M University was January 1994 or thereafter, or if you do not qualify under the suc
cessful semester requirement described in the following paragraph. Should your degree be conferred with less
than 60 undergraduate resident credits, this requirement will be waived after you graduate and your degree
is posted on the Student Information Management System.
30 undergraduate credit hours must have been completed in residence at Texas A&M University, providing
that prior to January 1, 1994, you were registered at Texas A&M University and successfully completed either
a fall/spring semester or summer term (I and If or 10 weeks) as a full-time student in good standing (as defined
in the University catalog).
3. You must have a 2.0 cumulative GPR at Texas A&M University.
4. You must be in good standing with the University, including i
fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc.
> registration or transcript blocks for past due
Graduate Student Requirements:
If you are a August 1999 degree candidate and do not have an Aggie ring from a prior degree, you may place an
order after you meet the following requirements:
1. Your degree is conferred and posted on the Texas A&M University Student Information Management
System; and
2. You are in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript blocks for past due fees,
loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc.
However, if you have completed all of your course work prior to this semester and have been cleared by the the
sis clerk, you may request a “letter of completion: from the Office of Graduate Studies (providing it is not past
their deadline). The original letter of completion, with the seal, may be presented to the Ring Office in lieu of
your degree being posted.
Procedure to order a ring:
1. If you meet all of the above requirements and you wish to receive your ring on September 16, 1999, you must
visit the Ring Office no later than Wednesday, July 7, 1999 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. to
complete the application for eligibility verification.
It is recommended that you do not wait until July 7 to apply for your ring audit. Should there be a problem
with your academic record, or if you are blocked, you may not have sufficient time to resolve these matters
before the order closes out on July 8.
2. Return no later than July 7, 1999 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. to check on the status of your
audit and if qualified, pay in full by cash, check, money order, or your personal Discover, Visa or MasterCard
(with your name imprinted).
Men’s 10K
Women’s 10K
$323.00
$201.00
14K - $426.00
14K - $223.00
Add $8.00 for Class of‘98 or before.
The ring delivery date is September 16, 1999.
Judge dismisses part
of Hampton lawsuit
classes which are large or classes in
which a lot of students generally fail.
“My students who attend S.I. reg
ularly generally average 10 points
higher on the first test in a class than
those that don’t [attend],” she said.
Despite the program’s success,
the program has not been without
problems.
Pirolo said plagiarism became
a problem for the program last
spring when tools such as out
lines and study guides began ap
pearing at businesses that offer
private tutoring. Although the tools
bore the Center for Academic En
hancement copyright stamp, the
problems persisted.
He said the center has started
using the Texas A&M copyright
stamp, which carries more weight
than the center’s stamp, to com
bat the problem.
Pirolo said representatives talked
to other tutoring services to solve
this problem, and he said he feels the
problem has been resolved.
LUBBOCK (AP) — A judge on TUesday threw out
part of a $30 million civil rights lawsuit filed against
the city of Lubbock by the women’s basketball coach
of Hampton University, her husband and an assistant
coach.
The suit, filed April 19, alleges racial bias by police
in the wrongful arrest of the three last Nov. 16 outside
a Wal-Mart.
Hampton was in Lubbock for a basketball game
against Texas Tech University, but the game was can
celed because of the incident.
U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings left much of the
lawsuit intact. But he rejected allegations the trio made
against the city of Lubbock under the federal Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
Cummings said that, under the act, the plaintiffs
must have received services from the entity they are
accusing, and that did not happen in this case.
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http://www.stulife.tamu.edu/gies/p1edu/peer1edu.htm ..
Assisting i
healthy I
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nlaMm |
Texas M!
Do you like to act? Do you like to teaeli?
Do you want to make a positive impact at
YOUR University AISHIJ receive Course Credit?
If you ansivered yes to any of these questions,
join Peer 1 Educators!
Applications available NOW in 222 Beutel Health Center.
Stop by, or call 845-0280.
Deadline for turning in applications is July 30.
Alcohol and Drug Education Programs
222 Beutel Health Center • 845-0280
htp://www.stulife. tamu.edu/adep
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in Austin
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105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
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