Sept. 12
TEXAS—-new death sentence
Paul David Storey gets death penalty for fatal shooting at Hurst Putt-Putt
Paul David Storey will die for fatally shooting a Hurst Putt-Putt employee
during a robbery 2 years ago.
A Tarrant County jury deliberated nearly 90 minutes before deciding Mr.
Storey's fate Friday morning, 2 days after finding him guilty of fatally
shooting murdering Jonas Paul Cherry on Oct. 16, 2006, as Mr. Cherry
opened the Putt-Putt Golf & Games.
Paul David Storey Mr. Storey, 23, the 1st of 2 men to stand trial in the
case, cried Friday when the death sentence was read by State District
Judge Elizabeth Berry. Several jurors did, too.
"It was a fair verdict," said Robert Foran, a Tarrant County assistant
district attorney who prosecuted Mr. Storey along with co-prosecutor
Christy Jack. "What the jurors saw was a man who was executed."
The evidence showed that Mr. Cherry, 28, was shot numerous times in the
head and legs.
"This was a senseless offense," Mr. Foran said. He forced a man to his
knees then executed him as that man begged for his life."
Mr. Cherry's mother, Judy Cherry, told Mr. Storey after the sentence was
announced that he did not appear remorseful.
"You didn't have to kill him," she said. "You could have just robbed the
place. I don't think you could have chosen to kill a better man. He was
not only our son, he was our friend."
She told Mr. Storey she sympathizes with the pain he caused his own
family.
"I understand all too well what it means to lose a loved one," she said.
"My hope for you is that someday you will be able to look back and
understand and ask God's forgiveness."
Mr. Storey's attorneys, William Ray and Larry Moore, had asked the jury to
sentence Mr. Storey to life without parole. Mr. Storey, they argued, would
not be a future danger in prison.
They asked the jury to put away any anger they might have had toward their
client and the crime.
"This thing happened in an instant, and Paul will pay for this decision
for the rest of his life," Mr. Moore said. "Give him that option. Where is
the evidence that he is a continuing threat to society?"
Mr. Storey, of Fort Worth, was arrested days after the shooting. Some of
the most damaging evidence against him came from videotaped statements Mr.
Storey gave to Hurst police.
He told investigators that he and a friend, Mark Porter, stumbled upon an
ongoing robbery after car trouble forced them into the Putt-Putt's parking
lot. Mr. Storey later told investigators he destroyed evidence, including
tapes he recovered from the Putt-Putt's surveillance cameras.
However, the one tape remaining showed Mr. Storey's SUV and a partial
license-plate number.
Mr. Porter, 22, is also charged with capital murder. He is awaiting trial
and could also face a death sentence.
(source: Dallas Morning News)