Murder of Santos Rodriguez

On the morning of July 24, 1973, Dallas police officers Darrell Lee Cain and Roy R. Arnold were investigating a burglary at a Fina gas station in Dallas, Texas. Without a warrant, the officers took 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez and his 13-year-old brother David from their home, where the boys lived with their adoptive grandfather Carlos Minez, and drove them to a vacant lot behind the gas station for an impromptu interrogation. Neither boy confessed, and fingerprint evidence later showed neither had been involved in the burglary.

During the interrogation, Cain removed the bullets from his .357 Magnum revolver, believed he had emptied it, and twice pointed it at Santos to pressure him into confessing. The first pull of the trigger produced only a click. Santos again insisted he was telling the truth. Cain pulled the trigger a second time, and the gun fired, killing Santos instantly with a shot to the head. Cain and Arnold exited the vehicle immediately; David, still handcuffed, remained beside his brother's body for approximately ten minutes before officers responded. Witnesses, including Officer Jerry Foster, corroborated that Cain appeared distraught immediately afterward, repeatedly saying he had not meant to do it.

Cain was suspended within hours, and Dallas Police Chief Frank Dyson filed murder charges against him the same day. An initial $5,000 bond set by a municipal judge drew criticism from Mexican-American community leaders and city officials as too low; it was later raised to $50,000 by a justice of the peace. Cain was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on July 27, 1973. Santos's funeral, attended by more than 600 people, was held on July 26. A march for justice on July 28 drew community leaders and was followed by unrest in downtown Dallas in which stores were damaged and several police officers were injured, though there were no serious injuries reported.

Cain's trial was moved on a change of venue to the 147th District Court in Austin, Texas. At trial, prosecution witnesses included Santos's brother David, Officer Jerry Foster, a ballistics expert, an investigating officer, and the medical examiner who performed the autopsy. Cain testified in his own defense that he believed he had emptied the gun before pointing it at Santos. On November 15, 1973, following jury deliberation, Cain was found guilty of murder with malice and sentenced to five years in prison — the minimum sentence available. Cain remained free on bond during lengthy appeals; the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction in March 1977, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case in October 1977. Cain was released on September 11, 1979, after serving two-and-a-half years.

Officer Roy Arnold, who had been present during the shooting and had separately fired an unreported warning shot at fleeing burglary suspects, was not charged in Santos's death. He was dismissed from the Dallas Police Department in August 1973 for failing to file a report about the earlier gunshot. Cain had previously been involved in the fatal 1970 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Morehead during a burglary investigation, for which no charges were filed.