1986-04-04
Hafdahl sentenced to death
April 8, 1986, Randall Wayne Hafdahl aka Jack D. Cone was placed on death row for shooting to death off-duty Amarillo police Sgt. James Mitchell Jr., who was gunned down after he stopped at the scene of a one-vehicle wreck on his way home from work.
Trial testimony
There are two accounts of the trial regarding the circumstances around the shooting.
Hafdahl himself testified that his senses were numbed from the drugs and alcohol in his system. He heard someone yelling at him, could not make out what was said.
When asked whether Mitchell had ever identified himself as an officer, Hafdahl replied, "I can't say if he did or he didn't. All I can say is I didn't hear him."
Further, he testified that he wasn't sure whether the man yelling at him was the same man who was chasing him, or one of his companions.
One account states that
"Hafdahl testified at trial that he was not trying to flee but, rather, trying to hide the gun. He knew the police would arrive shortly and would discover that he was a convicted felon in Texas who had stopped reporting to his probation officer.
Hafdahl also testified that although he intentionally shot Officer Mitchell, he was acting in self-defense and did not realize Mitchell was a police officer. Hafdahl believed Mitchell was "an angry motorist" whom Hafdahl had run off the road."
Another account states:
Hafdahl testified that he only tried to leave the yard to get to a telephone to call a wrecker. When he heard a voice behind him, he turned and saw a man with a gun. Fearing for his life, he shot him four times in rapid succession.
He said he only realized Mitchell was a policeman as he was falling to the ground. He said that Mitchell was wearing a windbreaker that concealed much of his uniform.
The prosecution offered substantial evidence that Mitchell was visually identifiable as a policeman. This included the fact that Mitchell's police-issue windbreaker was marked, "Amarillo City Police" and bore a badge insignia.
At least nine eyewitnesses to the events immediately before and after Officer Mitchell's murder testified that the backyard was visible from the highway, and they could tell Officer Mitchell was a uniformed police officer.
The two passengers in Hafdahl's car were also able to identify Mitchell as a police officer.
Shawn Terry testified that he saw Hafdahl shoot Mitchell four times in rapid succession. Daniel Helgran testified that he was removing the license plate from the wrecked vehicle when the shots were fired. He also said in a sworn statement that the shots were fired in rapid succession.
Testimony from Helgren stated "[H]e had his blue uniform, and his gun, so I knew he was a police officer, just by looking."
At least four of the witnesses, including one of the passengers in Hafdahl's car, saw Hafdahl turn and look at Officer Mitchell before firing.
A worker who was only 20 to 25 feet from the crime scene, testified that Mitchell identified himself as a police officer as he approached Hafdahl.
Numerous witnesses testified that Mitchell was gesturing and yelling at Hafdahl but that they were too far away to hear what he was saying.
One witness in the yard heard Mitchell identify himself by saying, "Hey halt, halt, stop, police."
An intentional killing
Hafdahl argued that when he shot at Mitchell, it was in self-defense as he did not know Mitchell was a police officer and feared for his life.
The prosecution, however, depicted the killing as one that Hafdahl committed knowingly. They said that Hafdahl's first shot hit Mitchell in the wrist and disarmed him, then he continued to advance on the uniformed officer and pump rounds into him while he was on the ground.
The evidence established that at least one of the bullets that hit Mitchell was shot at a maximum of six feet and could have been closer. This evidence came in testimony from several FBI ballistics experts.
FBI Ballistics expert testimony
Although the estimates varied somewhat, two ballistics experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation testified that Hafdahl was no more than six feet from Mitchell when he fired the shots.
One of Hafdahl's companions, Shawn Terry, testified that Hafdahl was approximately three to five feet from Mitchell.
To further establish that Hafdahl was close enough to know that Mitchell was an officer, the State called, among others, Ralph Erdmann, a forensic pathologist.
Dr. Ralph Erdmann's testimony
Erdmann did a crime scene reconstruction of Mitchell's killing.
The crux of Erdmann's testimony was that
- Hafdahl shot Mitchell four times with a semiautomatic 9mm pistol;
- the first two shots were non-fatal wounds to the abdomen and arm;
- Hafdahl moved closer to Mitchell while firing, although it was not clear how quickly the shots were fired;
- both the third and fourth shots to the chest were mandatorily fatal; and
- judging from the gunpowder stippling specks on Mitchell's face, Hafdahl was approximately two and a half feet from Mitchell when the final shot was fired.
Erdmann testified that based on the distance and angle from which each shot was fired, only one shot could have been fired when Mitchell was standing. That shot was the one that struck Mitchell's wrist.
Erdmann explained to the jury that many of the assumptions underlying his conclusions were drawn from the reports and conclusions of the investigating officers.
His testimony often indicated that the autopsy results were "consistent" with the officers' theories.
The other three, including the two fatal ones through the heart, were fired when Mitchell was already down. In addition, the prosecution brought four witnesses who said that they saw Hafdahl turn and look at Mitchell before shooting him.
Criminal history
Criminal history in Richardson and Grand Prairie
The State presented the testimony of two police officers, one from Rockwall and the other from Grand Prairie, Texas, who testified that they had arrested Hafdahl on a warrant for aggravated kidnapping, but had released him pending investigation by the FBI.
Hafdahl was never officially charged by the FBI on these charges; however, the implication from the evidence was that Hafdahl believed he was wanted on these outstanding charges and killed the officer to avoid arrest.
Also, one of Hafdahl's companions testified that in the days before the murder, Hafdahl admitted that he had "jumped bond" in Dallas, and had begun using an alias and had dyed his hair.
Daniel Helgran received a sentence of one year's probation for failure to stop and render aid.
After Hafdahl's trial, Dr. Ralph Erdmann pleaded guilty to perjury and tampering with government records in other cases he testified in.
Officer Mitchell had been a police officer for 20 years, 16 of which were spent with the Amarillo Police Department. At the time of his death, Officer Mitchell was 43 years old. He is survived by his wife; three children aged, 20, nine, and eight; and a six-month-old grandson.