2010-10-07 Anaya

Pre-trial

Prior to the jury trial, the State offered Anaya a plea bargain of 30 years for the murder and 15 years for the aggravated assault. He turned down the plea and chose to continue with the jury trial with a defense of self-defense.

The State also provided his attorney, Rus Bailey, with a list of Anaya’s convictions and made clear it planned to use those convictions at trial to enhance Anaya’s punishment.

October 6, 2010 Trial, Guilty Verdict

Anaya was tried in the 47th District Court with Judge Dan Schapp presiding.

Several officers testified about the investigation. Investigators with the Special Crimes Unit shared that they determined Angelica's car had two bullet holes in the rear passenger door. The medical examiner testified that Eric Mireles died from a gunshot wound to the head from an undetermined range.

Anaya testified in his own defense during the guilt/innocence phase of trial. In his version of events, he was inside the club when he learned that his brother was outside and fighting. He went to check on his brother, but eventually went back inside until closing time.^[1]

When the club closed, Anaya, his girlfriend, and a friend of hers got into his car to leave when he saw "flashes of a gun in the air." At that time, he also saw a group of people "pounding on someone with their feet."

He told the jury that he got out of his car to see if his brother was involved in the beating. He found his brother badly beaten and carried him back to the car, putting him in the front seat.

He then took Anthony's gun and put in the console between the seats. He wanted to leave before police got there because he was on parole.

As he drove down Amarillo Boulevard, upset about his brother's injuries, he saw Angelica's car and recalled that he had seen it leaving the parking lot right as he found his brother. Anaya's girlfriend testified that Angelica's car was easily identifiable by the "Class of 2009" decal on her back windshield.

He testified that when he pulled up alongside the car he already suspicious that they were at least a few of the assailants he saw pounding on his brother. He then said that the front passenger was making aggressive gestures and that he saw one of the back passengers point a gun at him through the back window.

He told the jury that it was then that he shot at Angelica's car, but only to defend himself.

Evidence showed that during the investigation, a black toy gun was found under the seat of Angelica's car. The gun resembled a semi-automatic. A Special Crimes Unit investigator testified that the colored sticker that marked it as a toy gun had been scratched off, making it seem like a real firearm. He went on to testify that he was not able to lift any prints from the toy gun.

Angel brother, Eloy, testified that he owned the toy gun but was unaware it was in the car at the time of the shooting.

The jury rejected Anaya's self-defense claim and found him guilty of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. They took about one hour to reach a decision.

News accounts from KFDA say that Anaya did not show any emotion when the verdict was read. He did, however, appear teary-eyed as he hugged his family members before being transported back to the Potter County jail.

Two dozen people attended the trial. Some were supporters of Anaya, others were family members of Mireles.

The punishment phase was scheduled for the next day at 10 a.m.

October 7, 2010 Sentencing

At sentencing, the jury heard arguments from both sides before deciding that Anaya be given 40 years and 99 years in prison on his assault and murder convictions, respectively.

It was determined that Anaya would serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Because of his prior convictions, at the time of the shooting, Anaya was a felon in possession of a firearm. As a result, the jury was able to consider his failure to retreat in evaluating the reasonableness of his actions. This was likely a contributing factor in determining the length of his sentence.