Forth Worth – On June 11, 2013, WFAA – TV (Channel 8) ran a story on the high profile murder case involving the grandson of billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens. Channel 8 sought attorney Alband's legal opinion on the case due to his five years spent in the District Attorney's Office as well as his experience as a Dallas-Fort Worth criminal defense attorney.
The segment explained how a Texas Christian University (TCU) student has been indicted in the 21-year-old's death. According to Channel 8 News, a Fort Worth grand jury charged Brennan Trainor Rodriguez with one count of felony murder, a second count of manslaughter, a third count of tampering with evidence and a fourth count of delivering a controlled substance that resulted in death.
The 21-year-old Thomas "Ty" Boone Pickens died after he was rushed to Forth Worth hospital on January 29th. The cause of death was later ruled as a heroin overdose by the medical examiner. The affidavit is alleging that Rodriguez injected Ty with heroin, which ultimately caused his death.
Channel 8 News interviewed our very own Navid Alband about the case where he stated that if prosecutors move ahead with a full fledge murder trial instead of pursuing lesser counts, and prosecutors are not able to convince a jury that Rodriguez injected Pickens with a fatal dose of heroin as prosecutors contend, then all bets are off. Alband said that if the jury feels like the prosecutor is piling on charges when they shouldn't be, the jury will punish them for that. Alband said that in the end there is a deceased person and you can never discount the fact that there is one. Alband noted that it's unlikely that Rodriguez will walk away from this case. In a statement to the press Ty's family said that they are grateful that Ty was not a heroin user or addict.
Rodriguez, a 21-year-old TCU student was first arrested on March 11th after his cousin had provided a written statement that indicated Rodriguez hid heroin, Xanax, marijuana brownies and paraphernalia in a maintenance closet across from his apartment on Rogers Road when Pickens was transported to the hospital. Investigators later charged Rodriguez with tampering with evidence and he was released on $5,000 bond shortly thereafter. His cousin also told the police that he saw Rodriguez inject Pickens with heroin, who was found unconscious the following morning.
If Rodriguez is convicted, he faces up to life in prison on the murder charge, up to 20 years for the manslaughter charge and up to 10 years in prison on the counts for tampering with evidence and delivering a controlled substance that resulted in death. To watch the full interview, click here.