TX - Jose Banda, 20, slain after running over 2 boys, Alvin, 7 Dec 2012

[oh_gal]

1) nobody ever WANTS their child dead.
But sometimes our children do stupid things like get behind the wheel of a car drunk putting their life and the lives of countless others at risk of death.

2) this dad was not a hero. IMO he was just a loving, horrified, shocked, enraged dad.

I'm sure if I was the mother of the drunk driver I would be totally devastated. But I would have to know my adult child killed 2 innocent children by his own stupidity and that a dad had to witness 2 of his children plowed down by my son's stupidity.

I can't say what I'd do for sure because I've never been in either position.

But I can't imagine what was going through this Dad's mind after seeing what he saw.

From all reports it was obvious to all that the driver was drunk. I can't imagine the pure rage that fact caused.

Long story short, had this drunk driver stayed away from his truck that night, he would be alive and so would those 2 precious boys.

(above bbm)

Maybe, maybe not. They could have been hit by the car 3 cars after this one.

 

[pukasonqo2]

two wrongs don't make a right.
we have a (not necessarily fail proof) justice system in place.
as awful as it was for this man to see his children killed by an irresponsible driver murdering him was not the answer. if we all start taking justice in our hands could you imagine the chaos we will descend to?
there are already countless victims of vigilante justice gone wrong (treyvon martin comes to mind). i am not excusing the driver and, although i am a parent, neither can i applaud the actions of the father.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

(above bbm)

Maybe, maybe not. They could have been hit by the car 3 cars after this one.

I'm sure that's such a high possibility.

Not buying it.

 

[oh_gal]

two wrongs don't make a right.
we have a (not necessarily fail proof) justice system in place.
as awful as it was for this man to see his children killed by an irresponsible driver murdering him was not the answer. if we all start taking justice in our hands could you imagine the chaos we will descend to?
there are already countless victims of vigilante justice gone wrong (treyvon martin comes to mind). i am not excusing the driver and, although i am a parent, neither can i applaud the actions of the father.

:wagon:

Welcome to Websleuths!

 

[MsFacetious]

I do not believe this man knew for a fact the guy was drunk when he shot him.

He could have "appeared" drunk from many medical conditions (stroke, diabetes) or just the shock of the crash.
He could have "smelled" like alcohol because unopened alcohol in the car broke on impact.
Unless the guy said "Sorry man, I am so drunk" he had NO way to know if he was drunk.

So, what if this guy had shot a dude who was not drunk.
What if this young father was working and fell asleep at the wheel?
Or simply didn't see the truck on the road, at night, disabled?
This is a NARROW road, with no lights on it. He may have hit them if he'd been sober.

http://www.khou.com/home/Search-con...struck-killed-2-Alvin-brothers-183030171.html

It seems like the justification for this, was that the guy was drunk.
But that could not have been known at the time of the shooting.

So if he had shot the guy and the guy turned out to be SOBER... would the Dad still be justified in what he did? :waitasec:

 

[MsFacetious]

I am not arguing he was sober, I know he was drunk. Just to clarify.

--------------------

“I’m not going to be the same no more because he was everything in this house for me,” said Jose’s mother, Maria Banda. “He was my life.”

Officials said Banda was intoxicated at the time of the crash. His Blood Alcohol Concentration was .175, more than twice the legal limit.

---------------------

They interviewed several witnesses who were present at the scene of the accident. Those witnesses said David Barajas was observed walking away from the scene of the accident, towards his home shortly after the crash.

http://www.khou.com/news/crime/Fath...ath-of-driver-who-killed-sons--190749911.html

If he was actually WALKING back to the house... then obviously he wasn't rushing to call 911 or to get towels or anything.
I still cannot imagine leaving the injured person to bleed in the road for any reason at that point. 911 was already called.

Honestly, I would like to know this father's history. Is there a history of violence?
Because that would make more sense as to why he was indicted by the grand jury.
I think it's very possible there is more information that caused the grand jury to indict for what they did. :twocents:

 

[Trident]

I don't know. None of us do, and now, none of us will. By "his side of the story" what I meant was that now all we have is the dad's side of the story to go by (or maybe witnesses, which is debatable)...but it's like now whatever this dad says goes: "Yes, I was out of my mind with grief. Gun? I didn't fire any gun. I don't remember anything. What gun? Where is the gun?"

Of course he hit the children and the car. That is not being debated.


Should he be punished, at all, for what he did, do you think? Was it "his" place to be judge, jury and executioner?

No, it was not his place to be judge, jury and executioner. However, I believe we can equate this, to a point, with a crime of passion. I do recall when there were husbands who got off scot free after murdering their wife caught with another man. Same thing at play here?

 

[Elley Mae]

I am torn as to how to feel about this. I can not imagine being in the father's situation. I feel for some reason that the father felt that the driver had enough time or should have seen the situation ahead to stop. I hope that better/more information comes out at trial.

 

[keeponsearching]

I wonder why the mom and girls where in the truck, why not walk up to the house, if it was that close, wouldn't it had been easier to push. Thats just a side thought.

I've been thinking about this for the pass couple of days. I still can't fathom how he went to the house to get the gun while his boys were just hit. I don't want to sound as if i feel no compassion for this, but so many questions in my mind. I hope to see more information just so I can clarify whats running threw my mind.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

I hadn't read this part yet. I didn't realize the Dad was pinned too.


A car slammed into their truck from behind pinning the children and their father in between the two vehicles.
Young David died at the scene of the accident while his father and brother were air-lifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, deputies said. Caleb died later at the hospital from his injuries.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Accident-leave-two-kids-driver-dead-in-Alvin-182671661.html

 

[Kimberlyd125]

This article is from December

"We believe alcohol was a factor in the initial crash," said Sanders, but the medical examiner has not yet released Banda's blood-alcohol levels. Banda has one prior conviction for evading arrest in 2010.



"After the collision, their dad was taken to the hospital because he thought he was having a heart attack," he said. "But it turned out to be a panic attack."


http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...-suspect-fatally-shot-after-crash-4106270.php

 

[Lois Lane]

http://records.brazoria-county.com/JudicialSearch/judsrch.asp

CRIMINAL RECORDS SEARCH

Criminal Case Search

Barajas, David

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://records.brazoria-county.com/JudicialSearch/judsrch.asp



Barajas, David

Interesting. A little big of a record.
Looks like driving without a license, and misdemeanor dope charge from 1999.

I don't see anything violent.

But I'm on my phone and the site jumps around a little.

Does anybody see anything violent?

 

[Knitty]

Interesting. A little big of a record.
Looks like driving without a license, and misdemeanor dope charge from 1999.

I don't see anything violent.

But I'm on my phone and the site jumps around a little.

Does anybody see anything violent?

Bah, I can't read.

 

[MsFacetious]

Brazoria County Grand Jury indicts Barajas for murder

Approximately 10 witnesses testified before the Grand Jury of Brazoria County and they returned an indictment on Barajas for the murder of Banda.

Barajas was arrested and processed through the Brazoria County Detention Center and is being held on a $450,000 bond.

http://www.alvinsun.net/articles/2013/02/20/news/doc512507964bb39658688447.txt

 

[MsFacetious]

I went looking for an update on this case and realized I couldn't find one.
So I went looking for the facebook... and realized I couldn't find that either.

Barajas, David Kevin - Charge - 12/07/2012 - MURDER
Confined - 02/11/2013 Released - 02/14/2013


http://records.brazoria-county.com/JudicialSearch/judsrch.asp

I'm sure it'll be postponed again, but the schedule for now is:

07/10/2013 Wednesday 9:00am Pre Trial

10/17/2013 Thursday 9:00am ANNOUNCEMENT HEARING

10/21/2013 Monday 9:00am Trial


RIP Jose Ines Banda Jr

https://www.facebook.com/RipJoseInesBandaJr


In Loving Memory of David & Caleb Barajas

https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Loving-Memory-of-David-Caleb-Barajas/263162777143852?fref=ts

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/271584851.html?src=news-stmp

Barajas' trial is set to begin Monday in a case with many complexities: No weapon was recovered, no witnesses identified him as the shooter and many in Barajas' community have strongly sympathized with him, with some saying they might have taken the law into their own hands if faced with a similar situation.

Legal experts acknowledge prosecutors could face a greater challenge than simply proving who committed the shooting, similar to another Texas case from 2012 in which a grand jury declined to indict a father who killed a man who molested his child.

"It's not the right way to do it, but jurors a lot of times make judgments based on moral responsibility, not legal responsibility," said Joel Androphy, a Houston defense attorney who isn't connected to the case.

 

[SCHMAE]

Really sad case. I hope true justice will be done and saying that, I'm not even sure what I think true justice is in a case like this.

 

[Lovejac]

One things for sure, that drunk driver won't kill anyone else.

 

[Lovejac]

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/271584851.html?src=news-stmp

The never recovered the gun? and Barajas hands tested negative for gunshot residue?