Eric Mann was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for a double murder
According to court documents Eric Mann planned to rip off Richard Alberts during a drug deal however Alberts would arrive at the meet with another man, Ramon Bazurto. Eric would fatally shoot both men before disposing of their bodies on the side of the road
Eric Mann would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Eric Mann Photos
Eric Mann Now
ASPC-E Rynning D/Row
ERIC O. MANN 045676
PO Box 3400
Florence, AZ 85132
United States
Eric Mann Case
Defendant and his girlfriend, Karen Miller, rented a house in Tucson where they sold cocaine, marijuana, and guns. Typically, Karen sold “eight-balls” (one-eighth of an ounce packets) of cocaine in the evening while Defendant worked on bigger drug deals.
In late November 1989, Defendant told Karen of his plan to rip off Richard Alberts, a friend also involved in the cocaine trade. Defendant set up a deal to sell about a kilogram of cocaine for roughly $20,000. According to Karen, Defendant knew he would have to “whack” (kill) Alberts after taking the money and giving Alberts a shoebox filled with newspaper instead of cocaine.
The plan changed when Alberts showed up with another man, Ramon Bazurto. Defendant, however, quickly made up his mind “to do it.” The men entered the house and followed Defendant back to the master bedroom. Karen followed behind and stood in the doorway, between Alberts and Bazurto. After trading the bag of money for the shoebox, Alberts lifted the top of the box that contained only newspaper. Almost instantaneously, Defendant shot Alberts and then Bazurto. Each was shot once, Alberts through the heart and Bazurto through the lung, severing the aorta. Both bullets passed through the bodies and traveled through the walls of the house.
Alberts died almost instantly but Bazurto did not. According to Karen, he feebly attempted to reach for the gun he was carrying in his waistband. Defendant placed his foot on Bazurto’s hand to stop him and described to Karen what was happening as the victim lost motor control and died. She testified it took from three to five minutes for Bazurto to die.
Defendant got a friend, Carlos Alejandro, to help him dump the bodies near a rural road in the vicinity of Fort Grant prison, near Safford. The next day, Defendant and Karen did a thorough cleaning job to erase all traces of the murder. All the walls and floors were scrubbed and patched, and the room was repainted. Defendant gave Alberts’ car to an acquaintance to whom he owed money. He also dismantled his guns, destroyed the mechanisms with a hammer, and scattered the pieces, as well as the recovered bullets, in a lake. When questioned by police, Defendant told them Alberts and Bazurto had come to the house but left after the drug deal failed.
Nothing more came of the case until January 1994 when Karen Miller ended her relationship with Defendant, allegedly because of escalating domestic violence and his threats to “do it again.” After moving, she told the police about the murder. Police tracked down Alejandro and the person to whom the car had been given and were able to corroborate Karen’s story. Defendant then was arrested and charged with the murders of Alberts and Bazurto. Karen Miller and Alejandro were never charged for their part in the murders or cover-up.
At trial, Defendant was found guilty of the murders, based primarily on the testimony of Karen Miller and Carlos Alejandro. At sentencing, the trial judge found three aggravating factors: pecuniary gain (§ 13-703(F)(2)); multiple murders (§ 13-703(F)(8)); and, in the case of Bazurto, cruelty and depravity (§ 13-703(F)(6)). The judge found the statutory and non-statutory mitigators were insufficient when weighed against the aggravators and sentenced Defendant to death for both murders.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/az-supreme-court/1468169.html
