On December 24, 2000, at 6:29 p.m., Officer Aubrey Hawkins was dispatched to a suspicious circumstance call at the Oshman's Sporting Goods Store at State Highway 183 and Belt Line Road. Officer Hawkins took the call from a restaurant less than one mile away where he had just finished eating Christmas Eve dinner with his wife, Lori, his son, his mother, and grandmother.
Donald Newbury, 52, will be the third member of the group known as the "Texas 7" to be executed for the murder of Officer Hawkins.
Newbury is a three-time convicted robber who helped engineer the biggest prison break in Texas history. The slaying occurred 11 days after the convicts escaped. The gang was captured a month later in Colorado.
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down his appeal to spare him from death an hour before being taken into the death chamber. His lawyers attempted to argue that previous lawyers were deficient and that courts did not provide sufficient funds for a defense expert to illustrate how Newbury's abusive childhood influenced his violent behavior.
Officer Hawkins was shot 11 times, his bullet-ridden body pulled from his squad car and then run over with a stolen SUV.
Aubrey arrived before any other units and approached from the north entrance, using the service road. He drove through the parking lot looking at the front of the business then around the south side to the rear of the building. As he made it to the west side loading dock area and entered the driveway, he came under a barrage of gunfire without warning and had no time to take evasive or defensive action. Mortally wounded, Officer Hawkins was pulled from his squad car and run over by the killers.
What had begun as a suspicious circumstance call turned out to be a robbery-in-progress committed by seven dangerous and violent escaped prisoners (known as the Texas 7) from the Texas Department of Corrections Facility in Huntsville, Texas, earlier that month. It was later learned that a lookout to the east of the store had seen his approach and warned the others causing them to abandon the numerous store employees that were huddled together, and bound, inside the store. Officer Hawkins' arrival to the dock area had coincided with the exit, from the building, of the escaped convicts providing them with an overwhelming advantage.
The gang was apprehended a month later. One of them, Larry Harper, killled himself rather than surrender.
During the trial, Newbury contended he didn't shoot to kill Hawkins and had pointed his gun far above the officer's head.
The gand leader, George Rivas was executed three years ago at age 41. George Rodriguez ordered his appeals dropped and was executed in 2008 at age 45. Three remain on death row: Joseph Garcia (43), Patrick Murphy Jr. (53) and Randy Halprin (37).
Hawkins' wife, Lori, wrote in 2000, "He was the kind of father that all the kids in our neighborhood wanted to be around. The love and relationship between Aubrey and Andrew is indescribable. It was a relationship that most parents could only dream of having. The 9-year-old little boy was Aubrey's pride and joy. They were "buddies". It breaks my heart that Aubrey will never get to see Andrew grow up to be the man he always taught him to be. Aubrey was the kind of son who worried about his mom living alone. He always looked out for her and made sure she was safe. He truly loved her from the bottom of his heart. Aubrey was a loving and devoted husband. He was my best friend. He made me laugh when nobody else could. His face would "light up" every time I walked into a room. Never again will I hear him come home and yell throughout the house... "Where's my girl?" Never again will I feel his big arms wrapped around me and his kiss on my forehead."
