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U.S. seeks death penalty in killing of Tampa man
©Associated Press
February 21, 2003
MIAMI -- A tow truck driver was taped telling a former inlaw that he "popped" someone and wanted to get rid of another man involved in the death, a prosecutor said Thursday as trial opened in a federal case seeking the death penalty.
An attorney for Jose Denis attacked the credibility of longtime FBI informer Francisco Avila, who made the tape, as a professional tattletale. Avila was once Denis' uncle by marriage.
Denis, 29, who was a Florida State University student when arrested, is charged with felony murder for financial gain with torture.
He is accused of shooting Rick Valdez, 40, of Tampa in the back of the head while the security specialist with Florida Sunshine Rehabilitation was staying at a Hialeah motel in April 1996. The defense claims Valdez was in town for a drug buy.
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