Jesus Vela (Source: Angelina County Jail)LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
A jury
trial will be held Wednesday for the last two suspects in the Feb. 7, 2012
shooting death of Darnell Bennett. Jesus Vela and Gerardo Renteria will stand
trial at the same time.
Both Lufkin
men will stand trial in Angelina County's 217th Judicial District Court for
capital murder.
Last
February, Vela, Renteria, Osvaldo Hernandez, Rafael Orta, and Jacob Woodard were
arrested in connection to Bennett's murder. Lufkin Police
detectives believe that the five men went to Bennett's house hoping to rob him
of marijuana.
Renteria, 21, is still
being held in the Angelina County Jail, and his bond has been set at $500,000.
Vela's attorney posted a $500,000 bond, and Vela was released from jail on Feb.
14, 2012.
In December 2012, Hernandez
pleaded guilty to two lesser charges - aggravated robbery and tampering with
evidence - and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Earlier that month, an
Angelina County jury found Orta guilty for his role in the murder. Because the
state didn't choose to pursue the death penalty, he received an automatic life
sentence.
One of the other
suspects, Jacob Woodard, admitted to shooting Bennett. In early November, an
Angelina County jury found Woodard guilty of capital murder and sentenced him
to life in prison.
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