Felix Rocha Estrada

Case information

Felix Rocha Estrada was a Hispanic male with hair color not recorded, and he was 22 years old when received. He had an education level of 4 years (as given in the record). The record listed his TDCJ number as 999291 and his date of birth as 05/07/76.

Timeline

• 11/26/1994 — Rocha and a co-defendant murdered Rafael Fuentes, a security guard, at an apartment complex in Houston; Rocha had been involved in a physical confrontation with Fuentes a week before.
• 11/26/1997 — The record listed an age of 18 and placed the offence in Harris County.
• 12/16/1998 — Rocha was sentenced to death.

Background

The record stated that Rocha had been involved in a physical confrontation with the security guard a week before the murder.

Rocha’s oral statements described a prior altercation in which Fuentes had beaten and embarrassed him, and Rocha had vowed to get revenge.

The offence

On the night of the murder, Rocha and his co-defendant approached the security guard and attempted to take his gun. The security guard was shot twice in the face, resulting in his death. The co-defendant took the victim's gun and pager.

The record identified the decedent as Rafael Fuentes.

Investigation

The evidence included testimony establishing the circumstances of Fuentes being confronted and a shooting occurring afterwards, along with testimony that Fuentes had been shot and his gun was missing shortly after.

Witness and officer testimony

Rafael Fuentes worked as a security guard at La Camelia, a nightclub in Harris County.

Reynaldo Munoz, who owned some pool tables at the nightclub, arrived at around 7:00 p.m. Munoz talked to Fuentes for ten to fifteen minutes while Fuentes stood at the door to the club. Munoz noticed that Fuentes was wearing a holster containing a gun.

Two men, described as a tall man and a short man, moved quickly toward Fuentes. Munoz moved out of the way as Fuentes stopped the men to conduct a search. Munoz saw the tall man raise his arms as if to permit a frisk. Munoz then watched the short man pull out a gun, point the gun at Fuentes, demand Fuentes' gun,(3) and reach for Fuentes' gun. Munoz began to flee and did not see what happened next.

As he fled, Munoz heard two or three gunshots. A police radio dispatch informed patrol officer Michael Junco of a shooting in progress. Junco arrived to find Fuentes' body with gunshot wounds. Junco noticed that there was no gun in Fuentes' holster.

The tall man was later identified as Virgilio Maldonado. The short man was believed by law enforcement officials to be appellant.

Houston Police Officer X. E. Avila interviewed appellant.

Arrest

Rocha was appellant in the case, but the record provided no separate arrest event.

Trial

The record provided no separate trial procedural history beyond the evidence summary and the account of oral statements.

Sentencing

Rocha was sentenced to death on December 16, 1998.

Appeals

The record provided no appeal details.

Outcome

The record reflected that Rocha was sentenced to death on December 16, 1998.

Aftermath

The record did not provide further aftermath details.

Other details

• Victim: Rafael Fuentes (security guard).
• Co-defendant: Virgilio Maldonado (identified as the tall man).
• Rocha’s oral statements (as recorded by the interviewer) included the following version of events:
  • Rocha and Fuentes had been involved in an altercation at some time prior to the murder.
  • Fuentes had beaten and otherwise embarrassed Rocha, and Rocha had vowed to get revenge.
  • On the night of the killing, Rocha and Maldonado confronted Fuentes.
  • Rocha intended to take Fuentes' gun to embarrass him and show that Fuentes was not a good security guard.
  • Rocha pulled his own gun on Fuentes, and Fuentes grabbed Rocha's gun.
  • Rocha and Fuentes struggled over Rocha's gun, and Rocha's gun was shot once during the struggle.
  • Rocha did not know whether the shot hit Fuentes or simply went into the air.
  • Maldonado shot Fuentes several times to protect Rocha.
  • Maldonado then took Fuentes' gun, and Rocha and Maldonado fled the scene.
• The corpus delicti for robbery was established by the testimony of Munoz and Junco:
  • Munoz’s testimony established that Fuentes was carrying a gun in his holster prior to being shot, that he was confronted by two persons, that one of these persons demanded and reached for Fuentes' gun, and that a shooting occurred afterwards.
  • Junco’s testimony established that Fuentes had been shot and that his gun was missing shortly after the shooting had occurred.
• Prior prison record: None.
• Prior occupation: Unknown.
• Race, gender, and other biographical details recorded for the co-defendant and victim included: Virgilio Maldonado (hispanic male).