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Garza, 34, is set to be put to death by lethal injection at 6
p.m. at the state's death chamber in Huntsville. If the
execution goes ahead, it will be the 524th in Texas since the
U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the
most of any state.
Garza was convicted of killing John "Rocky" Riojas, 37, a member
of an elite SWAT unit who was patrolling an apartment complex
that had been hit by a crime wave.
When Riojas approached Garza, he fled from the officer, who then
gave chase, court documents show. A struggle ensued and Garza
used Riojas' gun to shoot him in the head.
A jury deliberated for three hours before sentencing Garza to
death in a trial that dominated media, featuring weeks of jury
selection and an attack on a TV cameraman by a relative of the
defendant.
Garza's attorneys appealed unsuccessfully to halt the execution,
saying he did not have adequate legal representation at the time
of his original trial.
Prior to his arrest on the murder charge, Garza had been
arrested for suspected burglary, auto theft and marijuana
possession.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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