Charged with capital murder as of this afternoon. $5 mil bail.
I'm putting money on a plea of guilty and some legal maneuvering to get him a slightly lesser charge. The evidence against him is just too overwhelming for any attorney worth his J.D. to recommend otherwise. This, plus his prior run ins with the law (minor and mostly drug-related, from what I've seen) would have a jury handing him his behind in short order. Sure, they could play the under-the-influence or psychiatric condition cards but it better be damned impressive. The uber-conservative juries in these parts tend to dislike that defense tactic short of something overt, blatant, and easily observed.
There seems no premeditation and it has all the hallmarks of a spur-of-the-moment act. I could see his attorney making a valid run at second-degree murder in exchange for a guilty plea. If they were feeling lucky they might even try manslaughter. However, I don't see a judge giving that more than about 1.7 microseconds consideration before laughing them out of the court room.
Also... in all this I forgot to add that the TTU PD station is about 500' from my office. Had I stayed late as usual I would have been witness to much of what happened. I also missed the lock down by a span of mere minutes because my professor let out class a little early. If I have the timing correct I was driving by the PD building at pretty much the exact moment the shot rang out.
Brad
