Frank Silva Roque

Case record: Frank Silva Roque

Background

Frank Silva Roque was born July 8, 1959. He was a Boeing aircraft mechanic at a local repair facility. Roque held a criminal record for an attempted robbery in California. Roque reportedly told friends and a waitress at a local Applebees restaurant that he was "going to go out and shoot some towel-heads" the day of the September 11th attacks.

The offence

On September 15, 2001, Roque, incorrectly believing that the Indian Sikh was a Muslim due to his turban, killed gas station owner Balbir Singh Sodhi four days after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Roque claimed it was retaliation for the attacks in New York.

Roque took his Chevy S-10 from the Wild Hare sports bar in Mesa, where he had reportedly been ranting about immigrants. At the Chevron gas station owned by Balbir Singh Sodhi, who had immigrated from India in 1985, Roque shot Sodhi five times from his truck. Sodhi was killed as he helped landscaper Luis Ledesma plant flowers around the edge of his gas station.

After killing Sodhi, Roque drove to a Mobile gas station 10 miles away. There he shot at a Lebanese-American clerk from his truck, but missed.

Roque then drove to his former residence, which had been purchased by a local Afghani family, and fired multiple rounds at the outside of the house.

After fleeing from the final shooting, Roque was reported to have gone to a local bar and boasted that "They're investigating the murder of a turban-head down the street."

Investigation

Police arrested Roque the next day, initially unaware of the later shooting incidents. Roque reportedly shouted slogans including "I am a patriot!" and "I stand for America all the way!" during his arrest. His bail was set at $1 million.

Trial

Roque’s trial by jury began on August 18, 2003. His defence attorneys were Daniel B. Patterson and Robert D. Stein. They argued he was not guilty due to insanity, claiming that he had a diminished IQ and heard relentless voices telling him that Arabs were satanic and must be killed.

Two coworkers testified that Roque was "narrow-minded" and that he hated both immigrants and Arabs.

On September 30, 2003, Roque was found guilty of first degree murder. On October 9, 2003, he was sentenced to death by Judge Mark Aceto.

The trial was aired by Court TV in a 5-part series.

Procedural posture

Direct appeal of death sentence with independent review occurred after Roque was convicted of premeditated murder, attempted murder, reckless endangerment and three counts of drive-by shooting.

Sentencing

On October 9, 2003, Judge Mark Aceto sentenced Roque to death.

On February 27, 2006, Roque was found guilty of having manufactured a primitive weapon in prison three days earlier.

On July 19, 2005, while in prison, Roque was found guilty of an unspecificed conspiracy charge while in prison, specified only as a violent crime.

Appeals

The Arizona Supreme Court case was State v. (Frank Silva) Roque, 213 Ariz. 193, 141 P.3d 368 (2006). The death penalty was reduced to natural life without possibility of release.

Aggravating circumstances

The trial court properly dismissed an aggravating factor labeled (F)(2) for prior conviction of serious offense. The dismissal was based on Roque’s 1983 California conviction for attempted robbery, and the attempted robbery offense in California would not have constituted attempted robbery in Arizona and therefore did not qualify as a serious offense under (F)(2).

An aggravating factor labeled (F)(3) for grave risk of death to another was upheld. Roque shot the victim while the victim was talking to another man. Roque fired five or six shots toward both men from a distance of 20 feet. Although Roque’s intended target was the victim, the other man was in the zone of danger and could have been hit or killed if Roque had not been an accurate shot.

Mitigating circumstances

The Court independently found impairment as a mitigating circumstance. The evidence showed that Roque’s mother was a schizophrenic, leaving Roque predisposed to mental health problems. All four mental health experts who testified at trial regarding Roque’s mental condition on the days after September 11, 2001, agreed that his mental condition impaired his capacity to conform to the law, but varied in their opinions of how significant that impairment was. The Court gave this mitigating evidence substantial weight.

The Court found low IQ as a mitigating circumstance. Roque’s IQ was measured at 80. This IQ was not, by itself, low enough for Roque to be considered to have mental retardation, but his overall score was below average. The Court considered the likely impact of his low IQ on Roque’s ability to seek help or reason his way out of committing the crimes. The Court found that the mitigation was sufficiently substantial to outweigh the sole aggravator.

Outcome

The death sentence vacated and reduced to natural life without possibility of parole occurred as the final judgment.

Other details

Wikipedia.org State v. (Frank Silva) Roque, 213 Ariz. 193, 141 P.3d 368 (2006) was referenced in the case summary text.