A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal from a Houston gang member on death row for killing the driver of car on a Houston freeway so he could steal the vehicle's fancy wheels.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision moves 30-year-old Teddrick Batiste a step closer to execution for the April 2009 slaying of 26-year-old Horace Holiday. Appeals attorneys unsuccessfully argued Batiste had deficient legal help at his trial.
Evidence showed Batiste confessed to coveting the spinning rims on Holiday's white Cadillac so he opened fire, wounding Holiday. When the injured Holiday tried crawling away, evidence showed Batiste shot him again, then led police on an 8-mile-long chase before he was captured.
Trial jurors also learned Batiste was involved in another fatal shooting at a tattoo shop.
