'He put Zachary Cooper in his grave'
Prosecution calls Wright's alibi 'impossible'
By Dolly A. Butz, Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, August 23, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man's testimony of where he was the night Zachary Cooper was shot is "impossible," according to a Woodbury County prosecutor.
In closing arguments, Assistant Woodbury County Attorney Terry Ganzel told the jury that Samuel Montez Wright's timeline of events the night Cooper was shot "could not have happened."
Wright, 31, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery in 23-year-old Cooper's Jan. 15 death. A coyote hunter found Cooper's shirtless body two days later in rural Lawton, Iowa.
The jury began deliberating Wright's case Friday afternoon, but did not reach a verdict. Court officials say deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Monday.
Ganzel said Wright was at the Sioux City apartment of 20-year-old Nicolas Perez when a drug deal went bad. He said Wright forced Cooper at gunpoint into a car and directed Jeremy Williams, 24, to drive Cooper to rural Woodbury County. Just off 170th Street near Franklin Avenue, Ganzel said Wright was one of two men who shot Cooper.
Wright testified Wednesday that he was not in Lawton the night of Jan. 15. Wright said his girlfriend brought cigarettes to him in the Indian Hills area between 6 and 7 p.m. Around 7 p.m., Wright said he was walking at Sixth and Nebraska streets, when Jeremy Williams, 24, and two other people picked him up to take him to his old apartment. On the way, he said Williams asked him to go to Perez's apartment, where he said he stayed for 20 minutes before walking back to his old apartment.
When Wright says he is in Indian Hills, Ganzel says Williams' car has already left for the shooting scene, and that the defendant is in the car pointing a gun at Cooper, as Williams drives.
"He said he was gonna put the devil in his grave," Ganzel said. "Well, he didn't put the devil in his grave, he put Zachary Cooper in his grave."
Calls from Wright's cell phone, which registered on a Lawton tower at 7:07 and 7:16 p.m., Ganzel said, further weaken his alibi.
After leaving Perez's apartment, Wright said he moved a sofa with a friend, discovered that his cell phone was missing and walked to Williams' residence, but he said Williams was not at home. When Williams returned at 8 p.m., Wright said he discovered his cell phone between the door and front passenger seat of Williams' car.
Defense attorney Martha McMinn said the state based its case on the conflicting stories of witnesses Ray Dukes and Perez, and has no physical evidence linking her client to the crime scene.
"The evidence simply isn't there because Sam wasn't there," she said.
Dukes, 23, testified that Wright handed Williams the gun. After Williams shot Cooper, Dukes said he handed the gun back to Wright, who loaded a bullet into the .38-caliber handgun and pulled the trigger.
Perez, testified that Wright shot Cooper in the chest, aiming at an anarchy tattoo he thought was a an anti-Christ symbol, before handing the gun to Williams.
On Aug. 4, Williams, who was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery in Cooper's death, was found guilty of willful injury causing serious injury, third-degree kidnapping and willful injury causing bodily injury.
"Zach Cooper cries out for justice," McMinn said. "He isn't gonna get it. The state of Iowa bet on the wrong horses."
In closing arguments, Assistant Woodbury County Attorney Terry Ganzel told the jury that Samuel Montez Wright's timeline of events the night Cooper was shot "could not have happened."
Wright, 31, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery in 23-year-old Cooper's Jan. 15 death. A coyote hunter found Cooper's shirtless body two days later in rural Lawton, Iowa.
The jury began deliberating Wright's case Friday afternoon, but did not reach a verdict. Court officials say deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Monday.
Ganzel said Wright was at the Sioux City apartment of 20-year-old Nicolas Perez when a drug deal went bad. He said Wright forced Cooper at gunpoint into a car and directed Jeremy Williams, 24, to drive Cooper to rural Woodbury County. Just off 170th Street near Franklin Avenue, Ganzel said Wright was one of two men who shot Cooper.
Wright testified Wednesday that he was not in Lawton the night of Jan. 15. Wright said his girlfriend brought cigarettes to him in the Indian Hills area between 6 and 7 p.m. Around 7 p.m., Wright said he was walking at Sixth and Nebraska streets, when Jeremy Williams, 24, and two other people picked him up to take him to his old apartment. On the way, he said Williams asked him to go to Perez's apartment, where he said he stayed for 20 minutes before walking back to his old apartment.
When Wright says he is in Indian Hills, Ganzel says Williams' car has already left for the shooting scene, and that the defendant is in the car pointing a gun at Cooper, as Williams drives.
"He said he was gonna put the devil in his grave," Ganzel said. "Well, he didn't put the devil in his grave, he put Zachary Cooper in his grave."
Calls from Wright's cell phone, which registered on a Lawton tower at 7:07 and 7:16 p.m., Ganzel said, further weaken his alibi.
After leaving Perez's apartment, Wright said he moved a sofa with a friend, discovered that his cell phone was missing and walked to Williams' residence, but he said Williams was not at home. When Williams returned at 8 p.m., Wright said he discovered his cell phone between the door and front passenger seat of Williams' car.
Defense attorney Martha McMinn said the state based its case on the conflicting stories of witnesses Ray Dukes and Perez, and has no physical evidence linking her client to the crime scene.
"The evidence simply isn't there because Sam wasn't there," she said.
Dukes, 23, testified that Wright handed Williams the gun. After Williams shot Cooper, Dukes said he handed the gun back to Wright, who loaded a bullet into the .38-caliber handgun and pulled the trigger.
Perez, testified that Wright shot Cooper in the chest, aiming at an anarchy tattoo he thought was a an anti-Christ symbol, before handing the gun to Williams.
On Aug. 4, Williams, who was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery in Cooper's death, was found guilty of willful injury causing serious injury, third-degree kidnapping and willful injury causing bodily injury.
"Zach Cooper cries out for justice," McMinn said. "He isn't gonna get it. The state of Iowa bet on the wrong horses."
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