Shooting victim: 'I'm bleeding to death'

By Dianna Hunt

dhunt@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- A Mrs Baird's deliveryman who had been shot in the head by robbers called 911 and begged dispatchers to send an ambulance, according to a tape of the call.

"I've been shot," a raspy-voiced Jerry Burnett, 69, of Joshua, told the dispatcher. "I'm bleeding to death. ... Hurry up. There'll be a bread truck outside."

The 911 tape was played for jurors Tuesday as testimony began in the capital murder trial of Kwame Rockwell, 36, of Fort Worth, who is accused of killing Burnett and store manager Daniel Rojas in March 2010.

Burnett lapsed into unconsciousness and died 10 days later without ever rousing enough to speak again, his tearful widow, Sue Burnett, testified.

"He lived for 10 days and had his 70th birthday at the hospital, but he never got to come home," she said.

Sue Burnett, Daniel Rojas' parents and other friends and relatives were in the courtroom Tuesday, often wiping away tears.

Tarrant County District Attorney Joe Shannon also watched quietly from the audience.

Prosecutor Kevin Rousseau told jurors in his opening statement that Rockwell was the ringleader of five men who plotted to rob the Valero convenience store at 4125 Mansfield Highway in southeast Fort Worth. The store is next to a used-car lot co-owned by Rockwell where several of the men worked.

Rousseau said the men plotted for months to rob the store, which kept money on hand to cash customers' checks. Finally, about 6 a.m. on March 23, 2010, the men burst into the store wearing dark clothes and ski masks.

Rousseau said Rockwell shot the men "without blinking an eye," even after Rojas cooperated with them and handed over the cash. Rojas was also shot in the head and died instantly, Rousseau said.

"There was the potential for a lot of money in that store," said Rousseau, who is trying the case with prosecutor Sean Colston.

The men planned to set the store on fire to cover the evidence. They scattered gas inside but were unable to light it and left, Rousseau said.

Rockwell was arrested in San Antonio several days after the shooting. He was apparently headed for Mexico, Rousseau said, and yelled, "Just kill me. Just kill me. They're going to kill me anyway," as officers burst in to make the arrest, Rousseau said.

One of the men involved, Chance Smith, who said he drove the getaway car, reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and has agreed to testify.

Officers at the scene said the store's floors were slick with gasoline and blood when they arrived. Several casings from a 9 mm handgun were found in the store, and one bullet was found inside a bag of chips, according to crime scene investigator Jim Varnon, who has since retired from the Fort Worth Police Department.

Forest Hill resident Victor Harris testified that he was driving to the store as he did most days when two men in ski masks came bursting out of it. One had a gas can and another pointed a gun at him.

"At that point, I took off running," Harris said. "I was fearing for my life."

Crime scene investigator Daniel St. Clair said a cigarette butt was found near the front door, but no matches were found to indicate that the men had tried to light the gasoline. A slide show of photos of the crime scene taken by St. Clair were shown to jurors, ending with a photo of Rojas, collapsed in a large pool of blood. Rojas' mother broke into tears and was helped from the courtroom.

Defense attorneys Mark Daniel and Tim Moore chipped away at the prosecution's evidence Tuesday, questioning Harris' identification of the robbers as Hispanic and raising questions about whether Smith was actually in the getaway car across the street as he has said.

Rockwell was indicted on two capital murder charges -- one each for the deaths of Rojas and Burnett during the commission of a robbery. This trial is for Rojas' slaying. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Testimony is scheduled to continue today in Criminal District Court No. 4.

Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084

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