Gerald Casey

People

• Gerald Casey — capital defendant and convicted person
• Carla Smith — accomplice; witness at trial; received a prison sentence for theft for her involvement in Howell's murder
• Carla Elizabeth Smith — same person as Carla Smith; on probation for a robbery conviction in Georgia at the time of the murder
• Daryl Pennington — victim’s partner/householder; owner of the gun collection; identified stolen items
• Sonya Lynn Howell — victim; lived with Daryl Pennington
• Daniel Nee — daytime bartender at Kehoe’s Bar; testified about Casey approaching him about purchasing guns
• Ricky Taylor — testified that he purchased a Ruger from Casey in the parking lot at Kehoe’s later that afternoon
• Robert Lindy Lane — testified that he purchased an HK-91 assault rifle and semiautomatic assault rifles from Casey shortly after July 10, 1989
• Gomercindo Santana — testified that he bought a .22-caliber Ruger pistol from Casey
• William’s Gully — location where guns and items were moved/left

Timeline

• July 7, 1989 — Casey and Carla Smith visited Daryl Pennington at his home and attempted to sell furniture and a television set to raise money to move from Texas to Florida.
• July 10, 1989 — Smith called Sonya Lynn Howell and confirmed Pennington was not at home; Smith told Howell she and Casey were coming over to do some "partying."
• Evening of July 10, 1989 — Sonya Lynn Howell’s body was discovered by police.
• July 26, 1989 — a grand jury indicted Casey in the District Court of Montgomery County, Texas, for the capital offense of murdering Sonya Howell in the course of committing robbery.
• Oct. 28, 1991 — a jury found Casey guilty of the capital offense.
• Nov. 12, 1991 — following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed Casey’s punishment at death.
• June 22, 1994 — the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed Casey’s conviction and sentence in an unpublished opinion.
• March 20, 1995 — the United States Supreme Court denied Casey’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• April 28, 1997 — Casey filed a preliminary application for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court.
• Aug. 20, 1995 — Casey filed an amended application for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court.
• March 4, 1998 — the Court of Criminal Appeals denied Casey’s application in an unpublished order.
• July 13, 1998 — Casey filed a skeletal federal habeas petition in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
• March 8, 1999 — an amended federal habeas petition was filed.
• March 8, 2000 — the federal district court denied habeas relief.
• April 18, 2002 — Gerald Casey was executed by lethal injection in Texas.
• 6:18 p.m., April 18, 2002 — Casey was pronounced dead.

Background

Casey and Carla Smith were acquainted with Daryl Pennington and Sonya Howell and had been to their trailer home several times in the past. Casey and Smith visited Pennington on July 7, 1989 and attempted to sell him furniture and a television set to raise money they needed to move from Texas to Florida.

The offence

Casey and his accomplice, Carla Smith, formulated a plan to steal Pennington’s gun collection and sell it for cash after Pennington refused the sale. The plan involved making sure Howell was home alone by calling her the morning of July 10, 1989 after Pennington had gone to work.

Smith testified at trial that the pair would go to the Pennington/Howell residence, subdue, bind and gag Howell, and steal the guns. They decided that after the robbery they would leave Howell in the woods so Pennington would believe that Howell was the one who had taken the guns. Finally, they would sell the guns for cash and flee to Florida.

In the early morning hours of July 10, 1989, Smith called Howell as planned to confirm that Pennington was not at home. After concluding Howell was alone, Smith told her that she and Casey were coming over to do some "partying." Before going to the Pennington/Howell residence, Casey and Smith stopped at Coleman's, a local convenience store, where Casey wrote down the number for the store’s pay phone. Smith then dropped Casey off at the Pennington/Howell residence and returned to Coleman's to wait by the pay phone.

A short time later, Casey phoned Smith on the pay phone and told her to come pick him up. Smith drove by the residence but did not see Casey. After driving by a second time, Smith noticed Casey emerging from a wooded area near the residence, wearing a different shirt and carrying the shirt he had worn earlier. Smith noticed the shirt was covered in blood later determined to be consistent with that of Sonya Howell. Casey also had several guns, two imitation Rolexes, a gold nugget ring, a class ring, other assorted jewelry, and an "Ozarka" water jug containing loose change.

Once the stolen items were placed in the back seat of Casey's car, they left the area. Shortly thereafter, they stopped in an unpopulated subdivision to move the guns, jewelry and bloody shirt to the trunk of the car. Casey and Smith returned to their motel room and began removing the change from the water jug. They went to the bank to obtain coin wrappers, then began rolling coins.

After a short time, Casey and Smith went to Kehoe's, a local bar, where Casey made several attempts to sell the stolen guns. While at the bar, Casey made several phone calls and asked the employees and patrons of Kehoe's if they were interested in purchasing weapons.

Eventually, Smith and Casey moved the guns to William's Gully, a remote area of Harris County, where they also left the bloodstained shirt, a white towel and green washrag, each soiled with blood, various unused rounds of ammunition, and a can of WD-40 used to remove fingerprints from the stolen weapons.

Casey’s testimony differed from Smith’s description: Casey testified that he and Smith were together with Howell, and that the two women got into an argument. Casey said he tried to break up the argument, but Smith beat Howell with a telephone and then shot her.

Victim and impact

Sonya Lynn Howell lived with Daryl Pennington. Her body was discovered by police on the evening of July 10, 1989. It was determined that she had been hit on the head with a telephone receiver and died as a result of 10 wounds inflicted by nine bullets. Hair samples taken from Casey matched unknown hair samples found on the victim’s body. Blood stains on the washrag and shirt found at William's Gully matched the blood type of the victim. Daryl Pennington identified items recovered from Casey’s motel room as those stolen from his home on July 10, 1989.

Evidence and findings

The gun collection kept at Pennington’s residence that Pennington shared with Howell included: one .22-caliber semiautomatic Ruger; one 30.06 Browning rifle with a scope; one 300 Browning rifle with a scope; two semiautomatic assault rifles; one HK-91 assault rifle; one 8200 Browning double barrel shotgun; and one Mossbery pump.

In one of three prior visits to the Pennington/Howell residence, Casey had an opportunity to observe and fire several of the guns in Pennington’s collection.

Later, when police searched the motel room, they found several stolen items including the gold ring, two imitation Rolex watches, and assorted rolled coins.

Ballistics experts testified that at least five, if not all of the bullets, were probably fired from the Ruger recovered from Santana.

Witness testimony on sales of guns included:

• Daniel Nee, daytime bartender at Kehoe's Bar, testified that around 11:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 10, 1989, Casey approached him several times about purchasing some guns.
• Ricky Taylor testified he purchased a Ruger from Casey while in the parking lot at Kehoe’s later that afternoon.
• Robert Lindy Lane stated he purchased an HK-91 assault rifle and semiautomatic assault rifles from Casey shortly after July 10, 1989. Lane noticed several other guns and a Rolex watch resembling items stolen from Pennington.
• Gomercindo Santana testified he bought a .22-caliber Ruger pistol from Casey.
• The guns sold to Santana and Taylor were recovered and identified by Pennington as weapons stolen from his collection.

Investigation and identification

Police searched the motel room and found stolen items, including the gold ring, two imitation Rolex watches, and assorted rolled coins. Pennington identified these items as those stolen from his home on July 10, 1989. The prosecution also presented evidence linking blood and hair samples to the victim and Casey.

Arrest

No arrest details were included in the provided material.

Trial

Casey was indicted for the capital offense of murdering Sonya Howell in the course of committing the offense of robbery.

• Casey pleaded not guilty.
• A jury found him guilty of the capital offense on Oct. 28, 1991.
• Following a separate punishment hearing, on Nov. 12, 1991, the court assessed Casey’s punishment at death.

Carla Smith testified against Casey in a plea bargain.

Sentencing

On Nov.

Appeals

• Casey’s conviction and sentence were automatically appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, which affirmed in an unpublished opinion on June 22, 1994.
• Casey filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on March 20, 1995.

Habeas proceedings included:

• Aug. 20, 1995 — Casey filed an amended application on Aug. 20, 1995.
• The trial court entered findings of fact and conclusion of law recommending denial.
• The Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the trial court’s findings and denied the application in an unpublished order on March 4, 1998.
• March 8, 1999 — an amended petition was filed.
• The federal district court denied habeas relief on March 8, 2000.
• Casey sought a certificate of appealability in the Fifth Circuit, but it was denied when the court of appeals affirmed the district court’s judgment.
• Casey then filed a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, and that petition was pending.

Citations included:

• Casey v. Texas, 115 S.Ct. 1366 (1995) (Cert. denied).
• Casey v. Cockrell, 273 F.3d 1107 (5th Cir. 2001) (Habeas).

Prior criminal history

During the trial, the State proved Casey had several prior convictions for which he served time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division.

• On March 29, 1976, Casey entered a guilty plea to burglary to a building and was placed on six years probation.
• His probation was revoked on Nov. 8, 1976 when he pleaded true to alleged probation violations, and he admitted committing: possession of heroin; possession of marijuana; burglary of a building; theft; and assault on a police officer.
• On Nov. 8, 1976, Casey entered a guilty plea to burglary of a habitation and received a five year sentence.
• On Jan. 21, 1980, Casey pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
• On Feb. 9, 1989, Casey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and received a 15 year sentence.

Other details

Carla Elizabeth Smith was on probation for a robbery conviction in Georgia at the time of the murder. She received a 10-year prison sentence for theft for her involvement in Howell's murder. She was paroled in 1999 and had no criminal convictions since then.

Daryl Pennington died in 2001.

At Casey’s execution, Casey declined to make a final statement.

Execution information

• Final Meal: Fried chicken (3 drumsticks and 3 thighs), 1 quart coleslaw, tea or juice, vanilla ice cream, and 1 Dr. Pepper.
• Final Words: Casey declined to make a final statement at his execution.

Gerald Dwight Casey was scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, 2002. Texas Attorney General John Cornyn offered information on Gerald Dwight Casey scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, 2002.

On Nov. 13, 1991, Gerald Dwight Casey was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Sonya Howell, which occurred during the course of committing robbery in Montgomery County, Texas, on July 10, 1989.