3-19-2010 Arizona:A Tucson man who shot two men to death earlier this month was indicted Monday on two counts of manslaughter after prosecutors provided grand jurors parts of his confession, in which he says one of the men sexually abused his son.
Daniel Renteria, 27, turned himself in to Tucson police the day after Richard Rue Jr., 40, and James "Red" Marschinke, 49, were shot to death in the 5300 block of East 25th Street.
Renteria pulled up in front of a house and shot the men multiple times before getting out of the car and shooting them again, witnesses told police.
On Monday, prosecutors asked Pima County grand jurors to return two first-degree murder charges against Renteria, but they opted for the less serious manslaughter charges.
Defense attorney Natasha Wrae said she asked prosecutors to give the jurors Renteria's statement to police, plus the results of their investigation into allegations he made against Marschinke.
"When Daniel discovered what happened, both these guys verbally threatened him, and Daniel felt as though he had no choice," Wrae said.
She said Renteria did not report Marschinke to the police because he feared what would happen if there wasn't enough evidence to bring molestation charges.
Rick Unklesbay, chief trial counsel for the Pima County Attorney's Office, confirmed that jurors were told of Renteria's allegations and the police investigation into those allegations. The prosecutor declined to comment further.
Grand jury proceedings are sealed, so it's unknown what role the allegations played in the jurors' decision.
Online court records indicate Renteria, Rue and Marschinke had all been convicted of petty crimes in Tucson Municipal Court.
Marschinke's brother, Michael, declined to comment when reached Wednesday afternoon. Renteria also declined an interview request.
Last week, Renteria's wife, Ashley Clark, 24, said she and her husband met Marschinke last June. Her husband hired Marschinke for odd jobs around their home, Clark said.
In August, she said her 3-year-old son was walking funny. She said that when she checked him out, she saw what she thought were some abnormalities but was unsure of what she was seeing. She did not take her son to his pediatrician or a hospital. "I didn't know what to think. I certainly didn't think he's been molested," Clark said.
Clark and Renteria separated after Christmas.
Two days before the March 1 shooting, Clark said, she picked her son up from Renteria's house, and he told her Marschinke tried to break into his bedroom and Renteria had chased him away, and then described a sex act he said Marschinke performed on him.
Not wanting to alarm the boy, Clark said she didn't call the police but rather spent that day and the next pretending everything was fine. The next day, Clark said, she called Renteria to tell him what their son had said, and Renteria acknowledged that the boy told him the same thing.
Renteria told her that Marschinke and Rue had threatened him, but she didn't get any details because they argued about the fact that he hadn't told her what happened, and she hung up on him, Clark said. Neither called the police.
The shooting occurred the next day.
She describes Renteria, with whom she has reconciled, as a "kind and loving soul" who provides for his family as a journeyman electrician and had never been in trouble.
"I think justice would be for my husband to be able to come home and raise his son," Clark said. "He's not a coldblooded murderer." ..Source.. by Kim Smith
Lower bond for Tucson man who says he killed son's suspected molester
5-11-2010 Arizona:
A Tucson dad who says he shot and killed a man in self defense who he suspected was molesting his 3-year-old son had his bail reduced from $1 million to $500,000 Tuesday morning.
Daniel Renteria, 28, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder March 1, one day after he shot Richard Rue Jr., 40, and James "Red" Marschinke, 49, to death in the 5300 block of East 25th Street.
His bond was set at $1 million, but on Tuesday Assistant Pima County Public Defender Paul Skitzki asked Judge Charles Sabalos to either release Renteria to a county monitoring agency until his trial or to reduce his bond.
Skitzki pointed out a grand jury opted to indict Renteria on the less serious charge of manslaughter upon learning Renteria believed Marschinke had been molesting Renteria's son.
"The facts of this specific case clearly indicate my client doesn't pose a risk to the community at large," Skitzki said. ..Source.. by Kim Smith Arizona Daily Star
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