Donald Aldrich

Case record: Donald Loren Aldrich

Background

Donald Loren Aldrich was a member of what became known as the “CB gang,” so named because the members first became acquainted over CB radios. Aldrich was known as “Sundance.” For months, the gang preyed on homosexuals in the Tyler area.

Aldrich was previously convicted of burglary and robbery and was on parole at the time of the murders. He was paroled in 1990 after serving 6 months of a 10-year sentence for burglary, and paroled in 1991 after serving 1 year of a 12-year sentence for robbery.

Aldrich disliked homosexuals because at age 9 he had been raped by a gay cousin.

The offence

On the evening of November 30, 1993, Aldrich and two of his friends robbed Nicholas West at gunpoint in Bergfeld Park, a place frequented by homosexuals. After robbing West of his money and pickup truck, the assailants forced West into their automobile and drove to a remote area of Smith County.

They forced the victim to walk up a hill. Aldrich and another assailant shot West at least nine times with two .357 handguns. Aldrich fired at least three shots into the victim.

During the execution-related accounts, West was described as being stripped of his clothes and shoes and ordered to walk and later march in cold conditions. The accounts also described West as being forced to remove his pants and shoes and as being stripped of his clothes but not his underwear. He had defecated in his underwear, and the trio wanted to humiliate him by making him wear his dirty underwear. West was pistol-whipped, and he was described as being forced in bitter cold to embark on his death march, with kicks, jeers, and taunts if he fell. At the clay pit clearing, one account described Dunn firing his pistol into the air, which triggered a fusillade of gunfire from Aldrich and McMillan, leaving West knocked face down in the mud. Another account stated that West was shot as many as 15 times, and that the shooting process began methodically and intentionally.

After the shooting began, the assailants ran back to the road where the vehicles were parked. Aldrich drove West’s truck, and McMillan and Dunn fled in the car. West’s body was discovered by dirt bikers two days later lying face-down in the clay pit.

Investigation

A Texas jury found Aldrich guilty of capital murder in the gay-bashing death of 23-year-old Nicholas West after abducting him from a Tyler park.

Authorities classified the murder as a hate crime. Evidence obtained during suspect questioning indicated they targeted West because he was a homosexual.

Aldrich’s confession described that he and his accomplices decided to go “queer-bashing” and used procedures similar to those they had employed at least twice in the past to rob and assault homosexuals. Aldrich confessed after police arrested him days later on unrelated robbery charges. In the videotaped confession to police, Aldrich said he did not like homosexuals because at age 9 he had been raped by a gay cousin. Aldrich confessed to firing at least three of the fatal shots.

Arrest

A pair of dirt-bikers found Nicholas West’s body lying face-down in the clay pit. Acting on an informer's tip, authorities arrested Donald Aldrich (29), David Ray McMillan (17), and Henry Dunn, Jr. (19) for the murder of Nicholas West. Dunn was arrested in possession of the red Nissan pickup.

Henry Dunn gave a videotaped confession on December 3. At the time of the murder, Aldrich was on parole for two prior felony convictions.

Trial

A Smith County grand jury indicted Aldrich for the capital murder of Nicolas West on December 16, 1993. Venue was moved from Smith County to Kerr County.

A district court jury found Aldrich guilty of capital murder on August 4, 1994, and the trial court later sentenced Aldrich to death. The defendant appealed.

The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Aldrich’s conviction and death sentence.

Sentencing

After a separate punishment hearing, the trial court sentenced Aldrich to death.

Aldrich’s appeals later raised issues about trial testimony from psychologists who said Aldrich would continue to be a violent threat if he was allowed to live, though neither psychologist had met or examined him. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the argument.

Appeals

Aldrich appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed his conviction and sentence. The case was listed as:

• Aldrich v. State, 928 S.W.2d 558 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) (Direct Appeal).

Aldrich petitioned for state habeas relief. On May 18, 1998, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Aldrich’s application for state habeas relief.

Federal habeas relief was denied by a U.S. district court on February 24, 2003.

On December 1, 2003, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Aldrich’s request for a certificate of appealability.

On June 7, 2004, the Supreme Court denied Aldrich’s petition for certiorari review of the 5th Circuit ruling.

One federal habeas listing was:

• Aldrich v. Dretke, 83 Fed. Appx. 11 (5th Cir. 2003) (Habeas).

Another certiorari listing was:

• Aldrich v. Dretke, 124 S. Ct. 2817 (2004) (Cert. Denied).

Outcome

Donald Aldrich was executed by lethal injection in Texas on October 12, 2004.

Execution details and final statements

A Texas Attorney General media advisory reported that Aldrich was scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 12, 2004.

In a last statement, Aldrich addressed the West family:

"To the West family, I would just like to apologize for your loss. I hope that you can forgive me. To my family and loved ones and friends, I thank all of you for your support, and I'm sorry for the pain and hurt I caused you."

He also said:

"All right warden."

One account stated that Aldrich was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. Another stated that the lethal dose was administered at 6:12 p.m., and Aldrich was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

Aftermath

Aldrich’s accomplices were convicted and sentenced separately:

• Accomplice Henry Earl Dunn, Jr. was convicted and executed in 2003.
• Accomplice McMillan, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery and received a life prison term.

A statement attributed to the Smith County District Attorney Jack Skeen said the defendants were members of the “CB gang,” so named because they became acquainted over citizen’s band (CB) radios.

Other details

Aldrich had prior convictions for burglary and robbery.

In one account, Aldrich and four friends attacked and robbed a man whom they believed was homosexual nine days before murdering West. Aldrich fired a rifle at the man several times in an attempt to kill him, but the man escaped.

In another account, three days before murdering West, Aldrich and a cohort robbed another man whom Aldrich believed to be homosexual; Aldrich held a gun to the victim’s head, forced him to his knees, and asked him about his private life. The man was let go only after he explained that he had an elderly mother to support.

A final meal was reported as: Chef salad with French/Ranch dressing, fried chicken breasts and legs, french fries, a cheeseburger, chocolate cake, deviled eggs, and biscuits with gravy.

A quotation attributed to Aldrich described his view of targeting homosexual victims for robberies:

"If you can walk into a 7-11 and rob a 7-11 for 15, 20 bucks, get your face on videotape, have somebody that's gonna call the police; or if you can go into a park, rob somebody that's out in the dark, come away with a hell of a lot more - because of the fact that they're homosexual and they don't want people to know it, they're not gonna go report it to the police. Who you gonna go rob? Where you're gonna get in the least amount of trouble."