JUVENILE CONVICTED OF CAPITAL MURDER TO BE TRANSFERRED TO ADULT PRISON THIS WEEK
County Attorney
José R. Rodríguez announced today that Adam Curiel, the 17-year-old juvenile
found delinquent of Capital Murder on November 2003, will be transferred this
week to an adult prison to serve the remainder of his 40-year sentence.
Curiel,
a resident of Chaparral NM., was convicted for the fatal shooting of 54-year-old
Chuck Potts, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who was working as a
convenience store clerk in Northeast El Paso
in October 29, 2002, when the incident happened.
On November 7, 2003 a San Antonio jury declared Adam Curiel delinquent,
the juvenile justice system equivalent of guilty, and sentenced him to 40-years
in prison, the maximum sentence for a juvenile under Texas law.
The Texas Human Resources Code mandates that a
juvenile sentenced for Capital Murder under the determinate sentencing laws
must be transferred from the Texas Youth Commission to the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice (Adult Prison) upon his 21st birthday, unless the
juvenile has already served 10 years of his sentence.
Curiel will be 21 years old on Friday December 15,
2006, and has only served 4 years in prison; as a result he will automatically be
transferred to an adult prison by this Friday to serve the remainder of his
sentence.
Because the Texas Government Code requires
juveniles convicted of capital murder who are transferred to TDCJ to serve at
least half their sentence before they are eligible for a parole hearing, Curiel
will need to serve at least 16 more years before he is considered for a parole
hearing, and even then, the hearing does not guarantee that he will be
released.
"The transfer of Adam Curiel to the State penitentiary
serves as a lesson to juveniles who commit violent crimes like capital murder;
they will do time in adult prison, and we will continue to pursue all
legal avenues, such as the Texas Determinate Sentence Statute, to protect and
safeguard the community against offenders like him," said El Paso County
Attorney José R. Rodríguez.
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Adam Curiel Press Release.pdf