The Eleventh Court of Appeals in Eastland has affirmed the conviction of Pedro Rocha, one of the four men convicted of killing Ronald Philen in Brown County in 2009.
In 2013, Rocha was convicted by a jury of capital murder. Punishment was assessed at life in prison without the possibility of parole.
District Attorney Micheal Murray and Sam Moss, formerly the First Assistant District Attorney, represented the State during the jury trial.
Murray and Moss presented evidence during the trial that Rocha, Matthew Navarro, Alex Lucky Gil, Jr., and Efrain Castillo III broke into Ronald and Randall Philen’s residence to steal large amounts of marijuana. Murray and Moss also represented evidence that while the four men were inside the residence, one of the four shot and killed Ronald Philen.
Both Gil and Castillo testified at the trial about Rocha’s involvement in the murder. Murray and Moss also presented evidence of Rocha’s fingerprints found at the Philen residence.Rocha appealed the conviction claiming that there was not enough evidence to support Gil and Castillo’s testimony. The Court of Appeals held that there was sufficient evidence to corroborate Rocha’s participation in the murder.
The Court of Appeals also addressed other claims Rocha made that the trial judge made mistakes during the trial. In each claim, the Eleventh Court of Appeals determined that District Court Judge Stephen Ellis had not erred.
