10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A ROBBERY THAT NEVER HAPPENED

Murray Lee Blackwell's graduation from
the GED program in prison in 2008.

A Black man spent 10 years in prison accused of trying to rob a pizza delivery man in Harlingen to steal a pizza when he was 17-years-old. He grew up in a tough neighborhood and many in his family had drug addictions and criminal records… so no one doubted his guilt, not even the court-appointed attorney who lied to him and told him prosecutors had too much evidence against him and if he did not take the deal on the spot, the judge with a tough reputation would likely give him the maximum 20 years. We took a look at the file… and it’s obvious that it was, and is, bullshit! 💩 

The only person that believed him was the witness that saw what happened that night, but no one spoke to her. 

THE NIGHT OF THE PIZZA 🍕 DELIVERY 

On November 24, 2004, a man delivering pizzas for dominos drove down East McKinley St. in Harlingen, TX where 17-year-old Murray Lee Blackwell lived. On that night, Murray was hanging outside with a female friend.  The pizza delivery guy said in an affidavit signed the day after at the PD that a “skinny black male” approached him as he was looking for the residence. Murray, the “skinny black male” he picked in a photo lineup says it was the delivery driver himself that stopped to ask for directions. 

Looking back, Murray describes the events of that evening as an immature teenager trying to outsmart the delivery guy. He said he told the driver that since it was more than 45 minutes, to give him the pizza for free… he was nagging him as a joke. Based on Murray’s account, the delivery guy didn’t think it was funny. Murray says he answered: “No man! I’m just trying to do my job. I’m trying to find this address.” Murray says that as he was heading back to his doorstep, the delivery driver then asked the girl for directions of how to get to the address he was looking for, and Murray turned and told him she didn’t live in the area… at that point Murray says the delivery guy snapped and said: “I ain’t talking to you N****r!” Murray says he reacted by punching him in the face. 

In the affidavit the delivery driver signed the next day at Harlingen PD, he said Murray approached him and claimed the pizza was his, and the delivery driver says he answered: “no it isn’t.” He claimed he was scared because Murray was very insistent and was clinging to the car door, and never offered to pay for the pizza. He says Murray reached into the window of the car and punched him, and the driver sped away. He said at the time that he still had redness in the area where he was hit… he also said he was scared of Murray because he looked like he was on drugs.

Fourteen years later, in 2018, a journalist named Raul Garcia wrote about Murray’s story for the Valley Morning Star. He contacted the delivery driver and the man was surprised to learn that interaction resulted in a 10-year-prison sentence. According to Garcia, both the man and Murray recalled the punch graced the left side of his head, which would explain why the original charge was a class “C” misdemeanor. The delivery driver did not remember the incident as an attempted robbery, but he did remember. He also denied he used the “N” word.

HARLINGEN PD

Murray was arrested that same night. Cops showed up at his house and he says they just barged in without a warrant and asked about an attempted robbery (their report says he was arrested in the doorway).He asked for Murray’s name in a disrespectful manner, and Murray responded with contempt saying the cop already knew his name, since they had interacted before. After the cop repeated the question in a more aggressive tone, Murray responded with a different name. Murray was right… It was a trap to arrest him for failure to identify. Officer Guadalupe Escobedo admitted in his report that he knew Murray’s name, and arrested him for giving a false name instead, which is basically the same statute. He was also charged with assault, a class “C” Misdemeanor.

Months earlier Harlingen PD had assisted Weslaco PD when they served a warrant for Murray’s arrest, then a juvenile. Someone had linked him to “two related armed robberies” in Weslaco and San Benito… Murray still doesn’t know how or who associated him with those crimes. After two months locked up in juvie, they figured out he wasn’t the guy from the video. The black guy in the video in Weslaco was bald and Murray had an Afro at that time, so they dropped the charges and let him go. 

Those cases from San Benito and Weslaco, for which Murray was cleared, were cited by Det. Raul Flores of Harlingen PD as proof that Murray was capable of attempting to rob the pizza delivery man. He believed that had the delivery man not taken off, Murray would have carried out the robbery. Det. Raul Flores discussed it with his supervisor and upgraded the charge from Assault causing bodily injury (the record shows it was simple assault the night before) to Robbery, a second degree felony… It's unclear if Harlingen PD knew Murray had been cleared in those cases. According to journalist Raul Garza, the pizza delivery man confirmed to him the residence he was looking for was two houses down the street, so it’s reasonable to think Murray would’ve caught up to him if his intention was to rob him.

Det. Raul Flores is also the notary public that notarized the delivery driver’s affidavit.

DUE PROCESS JUST FOR SHOW

Then-17-year-old Murray Lee Blackwell lived in a bad neighborhood and was born into a poor family with many family members struggling with drug addiction. When bail was set at $15,000, no one bailed him out, so he stayed in jail until his arraignment three months later.

His arraignment was scheduled for February 15, 2005, and that SAME DAY Judge Migdalia Lopez of the 197th District Court (now-retired) appointed Attorney Philip Cowen of Brownsville to represent Murray… and that SAME DAY, Cowen convinced Murray to plead guilty despite his insistence that he was innocent.

The police reports do not mention the girl that witnessed the events that night, and Attorney Philip Cowen had no interest in fighting the case, let alone talking to witnesses that may had contradicted the official version. He convinced 17-year-old Murray Lee Blackwell that the prosecutors had an ironclad case and he had no hope of proving his innocence; and, if he did not take the deal of 10 years probation right there, the day of his arraignment, he would stay in jail and the “scary” mean Judge Migdalia Lopez would likely give him the maximum sentence of 20 years. Murray remembers being intimidated by her. Cowen even used the teenager’s lanky appearance to remind him he would not do well in prison. 

Murray accepted the deal and pleaded guilty in court that same day. The deal was for 10 years in prison, probated for ten years if they confirmed he had no prior felony convictions. The day after, he was released on a PR Bond. The judgment was finalized a month later… Three months after that the DA’s office submitted a motion to revoke probation. It was granted and Murray ended up serving the full ten years in prison anyway.

Again, Deferred Adjudication wasn’t even considered for a 17-year-old kid with no priors… and somehow, Mr. Philip Cowen believed he got Murray a sweet deal and helped him avoid the maximum penalty. 🙄

THE TEXAS JUSTICE SYSTEM

Murray Lee Blackwell, now a grown man nearing middle age, believes what happened to him happened because he is BLACK, and he may be right… his file includes a notification by the TDCJ in 2009 to Judge Migdalia Lopez of convicts from her court eligible for parole. It includes a Hispanic male of roughly the same age as Murray that got 5 years for burglary of a habitation. And, an almost 30-year-old anglo male got 4 years for aggravated assault. Both are 2nd degree felonies, just like Murray’s charge; their criminal history wasn’t available. Murray was never granted parole… probably because he never again admitted guilt to the crime he says never happened.

Everything Murray experienced happens all the time, regardless of race… not just in the Rio Grande Valley, but any lawyer would tell you (off-the-record) that that’s pretty common throughout the state. Court-appointed attorneys usually try to get rid of the cases as quickly as possible, their mediocrity is interpreted by judges as “efficiency” because they help clear up the docket by convincing their clients to plead guilty ASAP. Even retained attorneys do it when they want to get rid of the case… the process is the same, they lie to their clients so they lose hope of fighting the case, and if that doesn’t work, they let the Judge know that they advised the client to take the deal and he refused. The judge then proceeds to intimidate the defendant so he would get the picture that things will get pretty bad if he doesn’t accept… and of course, if you are in jail, as Murray was, a “NO”  means staying in jail.

Murray was arrested again in August 2005 on a bench warrant after the DA’s office filed a motion to revoke his probation. He wrote several letters to the judge… It seems he finally understood the original indictment and was trying to explain to the judge that he never had the intent to rob the pizza delivery guy. He also explained that his court-appointed attorney, Philip Cowen, coerced him to plead guilty. It seems that while he was in jail, he learned about “deferred adjudication” and “appeals” things that he could no longer get because he had already plead guilty and had been adjudicated guilty, and when a defendant pleads guilty, he waives his right to appeal… but it seems he didn’t know he waived all that.

It’s unclear if Judge Magda Lopez actually read any of his letters… the record gives the impression that she truly believed he was guilty (Cowen probably believed that too), and she may have intended to give him “shock probation” because she sent him to boot camp. However,  Murray’s anger over being punished for a crime he didn’t commit, caused him to have several outbursts, and the report from boot camp states he didn’t successfully complete the program because he failed to follow orders on several occasions. In a letter from 2016, the now-18-year-old attempted to explain the injustice to the judge again… but by then it was too late, the time had passed… he was going to be transferred to state prison.

Several years later Murray submitted a motion requesting his file and a waiver of the court fees. It was 2014 and Murray was towards the end of his sentence… his writing style was more mature, and he no longer begged Judge Lopez for help… he just wanted to review the evidence against him. The motion was denied. Judge Migdalia Lopez wrote an opinion citing several court cases that explained why she was not obligated to grant it. When we requested his file from the Cameron County District Clerk’s office, they were kind enough to waive the $25 fee and sent it via email within a week… It’s something to think about.  

Even if the allegation was true, the disproportionate 10-year sentence for supposedly trying to steal a pizza is an injustice in itself… There was no weapon involved and as much as they tried to play with words, it is obvious, just by reading the reports, that there was no serious bodily injury. 

Almost 20 years later, Murray Lee Blackwell is still trying to be heard and still experiencing the consequences of that encounter with the pizza delivery guy, and his lawyer’s failure to give him real legal representation.

DISCLAIMER: We contacted Mr. Philip Cowen on Sunday, July 24th, a day before this story was posted. He declined to answer questions because he didn't believe it was ethical for members of Justice RGV to remain anonymous. Today, he filed to run for Brownsville's school board. This story has been in development for some time, and it is in no way related to his decision to run, nor are we linked to any political campaign... in case he tries to say otherwise.