By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Clarissa Guerra is guilty of murder and tampering with evidence in the 2021 shooting death of Del Rioan Sandra De La Cruz, a state district court jury decided Monday.
The five-man, seven-woman jury deliberated just over two hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
Guerra, 25, has been on trial since Jan. 17 in state district court. She was charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the killing of De La Cruz, who was 27 years old when she was shot to death and her body left in the San Felipe Cemetery in far south Del Rio on the morning of March 7, 2021.
The jury began its deliberations at 10:55 a.m. Monday after 83rd Judicial District Judge Robert E. Cadena read the jury charge and after District Attorney Suzanne West and Del Rio attorney Michael J. Bagley, who is representing Guerra, made their closing statements.
The jury knocked on the closed door of the second-floor room where it had deliberated at 1 p.m., and court bailiffs notified Cadena that a verdict had been reached.
After the judge, jury, attorneys and defendant reconvened in the courtroom for the reading of the verdict, Cadena first admonished all those present there would be “no display of emotion” following the reading.
“Everyone is going to sit calm,” Cadena said.
The presiding juror handed the jury’s verdict form to the bailiff, who handed it to Cadena. Cadena briefly reviewed the form, then gave it back to the bailiff to hand to the presiding juror.
He asked the presiding juror to rise and directed Guerra and Bagley to rise and face the jury.
The presiding juror read the verdict: guilty of murder as charged and guilty of tampering with physical evidence as charged.
The jury also found that Guerra was a party to the offense and knew that a deadly weapon was used during the commission of the crime.
Guerra stood as still as a statue while the verdict was read, her demeanor reflecting no trace of emotion.
The trial then moved into the punishment phase.
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