John Joe Amador

Case record: John Joe Amador

John Joe Amador was executed in Texas by lethal injection on August 29, 2007.

Timeline

• January 4, 1994 — Taxi Express driver Reza Ayari and his ride-along passenger Esther Garza picked up two customers, 18-year-old John Amador and his 16-year-old cousin Sara Rivas, from a San Antonio store; Amador directed Ayari to stop at an unlit driveway near Poteet, where Amador fatally shot Ayari with a .380 caliber handgun and Rivas shot Garza in the head with a .25 caliber handgun; both victims were dragged out of the taxi and dumped face-down on the gravel driveway; after the pockets were searched and emptied, Amador and Rivas drove off in the taxi, later abandoned in the median of a highway on the outskirts of San Antonio.
• March 16, 1994 — Garza, who survived the shooting, informed police that a friend told her that the two attackers were named John Joe Amador and Sara Rivas.
• March 30, 1994 — Garza identified Amador in a photo lineup; an arrest warrant was issued for Amador, who had since gone to California.
• April 13, 1994 — Rivas implicated Amador in Ayari’s murder.
• April 23, 1997 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed conviction and sentence.
• May 22-24, 1995 — Pretrial hearing held on Amador’s motion to suppress.
• June 30, 1994 — A Bexar County grand jury indicted Amador for the capital murder of Reza Ayari.
• June 30, 1995 — A Bexar County grand jury returned an indictment against Amador on a charge of capital murder.
• July 5, 1995 — The guilt-innocence phase of the jury trial began.
• July 10, 1995 — A jury found Amador guilty of capital murder.
• July 11, 1995 — The jury sentenced Amador to death.
• February 14, 2001 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied petition for state habeas relief.
• May 24, 2002 — Amador filed his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for federal habeas corpus relief in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
• May 2, 2003 — Amador filed an amended and supplemental habeas petition.
• April 11, 2005 — A federal district court denied petition for federal habeas relief but granted certificate of appealability on two issues.
• August 1, 2006 — 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed district court’s denial of relief.
• April 30, 2007 — U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review.
• August 29, 2007 — Amador was executed by lethal injection in Texas.

Background

Amador had pled guilty as an “accessory after the fact” to the fatal stabbing of his stepfather in California at age 16 and was sentenced to three years in prison.

During the punishment phase of his murder trial, Amador threatened to kill the judge and prosecutors.

At the time of the execution, Amador was 32.

The offence

Around 3:30 a.m. on January 4, 1994, Taxi Express driver Reza Ayari and his ride-along passenger Esther Garza picked up two customers—18-year-old John Amador and his 16-year-old cousin, Sara Rivas—from a San Antonio store.

Amador asked to be dropped off in the town of Poteet, about thirty minutes away in south Bexar County. Ayari drove to Amador’s girlfriend’s house first so that Amador could get money to pay for the ride. After obtaining the money, the foursome reached Poteet at about 4 a.m.

Amador directed Ayari down a dark street and told him to stop at an unlit driveway in front of a house owned by someone neither Amador nor Rivas knew. Seconds after the cab stopped, and with no warning or provocation, Amador fatally shot Ayari with a .380 caliber handgun. Soon after, on Amador’s command, Rivas shot Garza in the head with a .25 caliber handgun.

Both victims were dragged out of the taxi and dumped face-down on the gravel driveway. After Garza’s pockets were searched and emptied, Amador and Rivas drove off in the taxi. The taxi was later found abandoned in the median of a highway on the outskirts of San Antonio. A passing motorist witnessed Amador and Rivas walk away from the vehicle.

Investigation

An anonymous “Crimestoppers” caller implicated Amador.

On March 16, 1994, Garza informed police that a friend told her that the two attackers were named John Joe Amador and Sara Rivas.

On March 30, 1994, Garza identified Amador in a photo lineup and an arrest warrant was issued for Amador, who had since gone to California.

An officer arrested Amador and brought him back to Texas; Rivas was also arrested.

On April 13, 1994, Rivas implicated Amador in Ayari’s murder.

Arrest and detention

Amador had gone to California after an arrest warrant was issued for him. An officer arrested him and brought him back to Texas. Rivas was also arrested.

Evidence and statements

Amador’s written statement

Amador “all but confessed” when he identified to police the caliber of the guns used in the shootings, described how he “would have” committed the murder, asserted that he “will take [his] death sentence” if prosecutors could “prove it in court,” and warned his girlfriend by letter not to testify.

The portions of Amador’s statement read into the record at trial were:

My name is John Joe Amador.
I am 18 years old and I live at 3907 Eldridge Street in San Antonio, Texas.
I have told Sergeant Marin that I am going to tell him about the murder of the taxicab driver and the shooting of a young girl. I am going to tell my side of the story the way I want it to come out. I don’t need no attorney or anything for this. Sergeant Marin has read me my rights and I understand my rights. During the early part of January 1994, I don’t remember the date other than it was sometime shortly after New Year’s Day, this is when this mess all started. It was during the night. I don’t remember what time it was, but I do know it was late. They say I shot and killed a taxicab driver and my cousin Sara Rivas shot a young woman in the face. If this is true, Sara would have shot the young woman because I would have ordered her to do it. Sara is my cousin and she is not that type of a person. She is from Houston and was visiting here in San Antonio when all of this shit happened. She wanted to visit her grandma who lives near Poteet, Texas, but she never made it over there. In this situation I would have handed her a gun and I would have ordered her to shoot the woman with that gun. If all of this stuff about the murder is true and they can prove it in court, then I will take my death sentence. This is all I want to say. I don’t want to say any more. I will just wait for my day in court.

Amador contacted Sergeant Marin the next day after Rivas was assured to be “fine,” and Sergeant Marin asked Amador to accompany him to the scene of the crime and help locate the guns used in the shooting; the weapons were never found. Amador mentioned that if he had committed the crime, he would have used .25 and .380 caliber handguns.

Witness identification and hypnosis

Garza was unable to identify Amador from a photo array before March 30, 1994. Garza agreed to be hypnotized to enhance her memory, and on February 3, 1994, she underwent hypnosis performed by Brian Price, a Bexar County Adult Probation Officer who had training as an investigative hypnotist.

On March 30, 1994, Garza identified Amador as the male suspect in the cab on the night of the shootings.

Other trial witnesses

Martinez testified that Amador was her boyfriend, awoke her in the early morning hours of January 4, 1994, asked her for money for a taxi ride, told her approximately two weeks earlier he “wanted to do something crazy involving a taxicab,” told her sometime during the afternoon of January 4, 1994 that he and his cousin had taken a taxi to Poteet and had shot someone, described the murder in great detail, and wrote her a letter from prison pressuring her not to testify.

Esther Menchaca testified that early in the morning of January 4, 1994, she observed an abandoned taxicab in the median of Highway 16 at approximately 4:15 a.m. and saw a male and a female walking along side of the road; on May 3, 1994 she positively identified Amador from a photo array.

Trial

Charges and indictment

Amador was indicted for the capital murder of Taxi Express driver Reza Ayari.

Jury verdict and sentencing

On July 10, 1995, the jury returned its verdict, finding Amador guilty of capital murder. The punishment phase began that same day. On July 11, 1995, the jury sentenced Amador to death.

Sentencing

The jury sentenced Amador to death on July 11, 1995.

Appeals

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Amador’s conviction and sentence on April 23, 1997.

On February 14, 2001, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied petition for state habeas relief.

A San Antonio federal district court denied petition for federal habeas relief and issued certificate of appealability on two issues on April 11, 2005.

On August 1, 2006, the 5th U.S.

On April 30, 2007, the U.S.

Outcome

Amador was executed by lethal injection in Texas on August 29, 2007. He was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m.

In his final statement from the gurney, Amador said:

God forgive me. God forgive them for they know not what they do. After all these years our people are still lost in hatred and anger. Give them peace God for people seeking revenge toward me.

He also expressed love to his wife and several friends who watched through a window, and said:

God give them peace

Then he said:

Freedom. I'm ready.

As the drugs began taking effect, he uttered:

Wow

Aftermath

Ayari’s widow, JoAnn Ayari, said she eventually forgave Amador and felt sorry for him and his family. Amir Ayari, who was 6 when his father was killed, stated that he was disappointed and angered by Amador’s demeanor and said:

He looked too happy

She said of her husband’s murder:

I've been missing my husband for 13 years

Another man’s scheduled execution noted in the materials was Kenneth Foster, set to die for being the getaway driver in a fatal attempted robbery in San Antonio.