FORT WORTH -- The lookout man in the Valero robbery and double homicide told jurors Thursday that he was afraid of the man who planned the crime.
Chance Smith, 25, one of five defendants in the case, testified in Randy Seibel's capital murder trial that Kwame Rockwell threatened to have cartel drug members track down and punish any accomplices in the March 23, 2010, robbery who got out of line.During opening statements, Seibel's attorney, Wes Ball, said his client was afraid of Rockwell.Smith was arrested for his role in the slayings of Jerry Burnett, a 70-year-old Mrs Baird's Bread delivery driver, and Daniel Rojas-Torres, a convenience store clerk, during the robbery at a Valero convenience store.Smith pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in exchange for his testimony. Rockwell was convicted and sentenced to death in January. Prosecutors Sean Colston and Kevin Rousseau are not seeking the death penalty in the Seibel case.Rockwell took pictures of the people he recruited for the robbery under the guise of linking the photos to their phone numbers, Smith said. He testified that he later discovered that Rockwell sent the pictures to a woman living in Mexico whose drug-smuggling father had ties to the Zeta crime cartel.If anything went wrong, members of the Zeta crime family would track down the offender and hurt him, Smith said.Rockwell "did not come out and threaten me, but it was implied," Smith testified.Smith said he moved his family to his mother-in-law's house after the robbery. He told the jury Rockwell visited him unannounced at his apartment in the days after the robbery, and wanted Smith to take a ride with him. Smith said he was at his apartment to retrieve his family's clothing."I thought Kwame might know I went to the police," Smith said. "My mom said she saw a gun in the car. I told him we were about to go to dinner and I could not come."When the robbers met after the shooting, Rockwell wanted to plan and execute more robberies, despite the deadly outcome of the Valero robbery, Smith said. "I was speechless," he told the jury.If convicted, Seibel faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Trial dates have not been set for cousins Timothy Thomas, 22, and Tyrone Thomas, 26, the two other defendants.Testimony is expected to continue Friday in state district judge Mike Thomas' court.Mitch Mitchell, 817-390-7752Twitter: @mitchmitchel3Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
