Former Hirschi quarterback loses last bid to overturn murder conviction
A Wichita Falls man has exhausted appeals of his capital murder conviction and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, court documents show.
Ironically, Martez Travon Vrana, 25, was not accused in trial court of being the triggerman in the shooting of Jason Ray Baum Jr. in a Wichita Falls alley on June 11, 2020.
Baum was a 23-year-old father of one, according to his obituary.
Vrana, whom prosecutors claimed was the ringleader of an armed robbery crew, chose to go to trial and was sentenced to mandatory life without parole on June 15, 2022, in 78th District Court.
Martez Vrana on Wednesday lost the appeal for a new trial for his murder conviction before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Dimonique McKinney, the suspected triggerman, was sentenced to 50 years, and Sammy Worthy IV was sentenced to 25 years. Both men could become eligible for parole.
Vrana, the starting quarterback for the Hirschi High School varsity football team from 2015 to 2017, based his appeals on claims that jurors at his trial in 2022 were excluded based on race and that an outburst from the gallery tainted the jury.
On Wednesday the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Vrana’s request for a discretionary review, which is the last step in the Texas appeals process.
More: Vrana convicted of capital murder in Jason Baum shooting
More: Outbursts and call for a mistrial mark opening of Martez Vrana murder trial
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Vrana loses last bid for a new murder trial
Source link
