Elders found guilty of capital murder

Apr. 26—Jurors in the 413th District Court deliberated about three hours Monday before finding Burleson resident Jerry Don Elders guilty of capital murder.

The same jurors must now decide whether to sentence Elders to life in prison without parole or death.

Elders, 40, stood trial on the April 14, 2021, kidnapping and shooting death of Burleson resident Robin Waddell. Elders on that same morning also shot Burleson Police Officer Joshua Lott three times after Lott conducted a traffic stop on Elders' vehicle. Lott was rushed to the hospital and survived.

During the guilt/innocence phase of Elders' trial, which began April 15, prosecuting and defense attorneys called more than 20 witnesses in addition to offering numerous items of evidence.

Defense attorney Bob Gill, during Monday's closing arguments, averred that the state failed to present evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Elders committed capital murder. Gill told jurors that Elders instead committed murder and urged jurors to consider that lesser offense in place of capital murder.

The state, in going for capital murder, over charged Elders, Gill said.

"He's on trail for capital murder for the death of Robin Waddell," Gill said. "And the facts don't back up a verdict of guilty for capital murder. They back up a verdict of guilty for murder."

The difference involves specific intent, Gill said, which a murder charge does not require.

Gill characterized as in a disheveled mental state the day of Lott and Waddell's shootings.

"This is a guy running around in a narcotic haze reacting from moment to moment to moment," Gill said. "And because he's reacting, not planning and not intending, he's not guilty of capital murder."

Gill likened several officers investigating the case to Keystone cops.

"This was not a planned, thought out operation," Gill said. "This was Jerry the bungler versus the local police departments."

After shooting Lott, Elders fled the scene in his vehicle but pulled over soon after when the vehicle caught fire. Elders fled on foot crossing into Waddell's property where he took refuge in a truck on her property. Once discovered by Waddell, he he kidnapped her, stole her truck and forced her to drive him away from Johnson County.

Gill referenced Elders' girlfriend in the car at the time of Lott's shooting who also fled on foot after Elders' car caught fire. The girlfriend also wandered onto Waddell's property, apparently separately from Elders, but left when confronted by Waddell's daughter-in-law, who lived in a house on the same property. Another witness, earlier in the trial, testified that he encountered the girlfriend walking on the side of the road and drove her back to the Wadell property.

"It's important to know that all the law enforcement officers out [at Waddell's property] that day, they couldn't find an overweight girl running around out there who bailed out of that vehicle," Gill said. "She came walking up to Mrs. Waddell's property at 7 a.m. in the morning. Police hadn't found her. She was still walking around out there at 10 a.m."

Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Christy May countered that evidence presented clearly showed that Elders killed Waddell with intent while also in the course of kidnapping her and stealing her vehicle.

"You don't need a video projecting [Elders'] inner thoughts to determine what his intent was," May said. "That's because you can infer somebody's intent through their actions. Intent can be formed in an instant. That's the law in Texas. It doesn't have to be premeditated or planned out. His knowledge, his goals and actions that day equal intent."

Elders, May argued, knew that he had shot a police officer and that officers were looking for him. Through a call to his sister, on Waddell's cellphone, Elders learned that police already knew who he was, May said.

Once Waddell drove her truck through the parking lot gate of the Joshua Police Department, May argued that Elders knew that he couldn't let her get away and so shot her.

May countered Gill's characterization of Elders as operating under a narcotic haze that day by pointing out that no evidence had been presented to show he was high during the course of the events.

Jurors sided with the state. Shortly after the jury's verdict, the trial moved to the punishment phase during which jurors will decide whether Elders gets life in prison or death.

May, during opening arguments of the punishment phase, said evidence to be offered of Elders' past transgressions and behavior will show that he represents a continuing threat and should therefore be sentenced to death.

Prosecutor's attempts on Monday afternoon to introduce recordings of phone calls Elders made while awaiting trial in the Johnson County Jail met numerous objections from Elders' attorneys.

Gill raised concern over whether the phone calls constitute jail course of business records as well as the fact that they may contain information about earlier crimes committed by Elders that defense attorneys were not made aware of during discovery.

As court adjourned for the day, attorneys from both sides agreed to remain behind to listen to the phone calls together and either agree or agree to disagree as to admissability arguments to be presented to the judge Tuesday morning.

Instead of taking up the jail phone calls, jurors on Tuesday heard from Sgt. Brandon Whitman of the Joshua Police Department.

Whitman testified of drugs, identification information and IDs of other people salvaged from Elders' burning vehicle as well as pictures and poems related to Bonnie and Clyde.

Elders, Whitman said, was under investigation by the department for carburetor theft at the time of the shootings and had been informed of such.

Whitman testified about Elders' previous arrests for drugs and other crimes and said that he treated him and other officers with disdain.

Elders' sister testified on Tuesday as well. She said that Elders, though he did well in school early on, later drifted into drugs and crime.

She said attempts from her and other family members to urge Elders to straighten out his life met limited success and that he ultimately returned to a "reckless, careless unstable life of obsessive drug use."

Arguments were still being presented as of press time Friday afternoon.