FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JURY HANDS NEWLYWED MURDERER LIFE SENTENCE

San Antonio, Texas: March 11, 2010

This afternoon a Bexar County jury handed down a Life sentence to Charles Reese, age 26, for the murder of his wife, Shanika Sanford, age 18. The two had been married for less than one month when, in March of 2009, Reese and his wife got into an argument in the parking lot of a local apartment complex. On Tuesday, the jury found Reese guilty of murder. During the trial, prosecutors proved that Reese fatally shot his wife in the face, neck, chest and hand in what was described as one of the worst cases of domestic violence in the city.

Today, after hearing the punishment evidence, the jury gave Reese the maximum sentence of Life in prison. During the punishment phase, prosecutors presented evidence that Reese had committed two prior assaults against his wife and that he also had pending charges for an Aggravated Robbery stemming from a home invasion. In handing down the Life sentence, the jury apparently chose to disregard Reese’s plea for a lesser sentence due to the fact that he had grown up in poverty and around crime, both in his neighborhood and at home.

The trial was held in the 437th District Court before the honorable Judge Lori Valenzuela.

For more information, contact Cliff Herberg, First Assistant Criminal District Attorney, at 335-2342.