The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information; however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
AGUIRRE-JARQUIN, Clemente (H/M)
DOB: 05/11/80
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Seminole County Case #04-2491
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Judge O.H. Eaton
Attorney, Trial: Timothy Dale Caudill – Assistant PublicDefender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Christopher S. Quarles – AssistantPublic Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Carol C. Rodriguez &Nathaniel Plucker – CCRC-M
Date of Offense: 06/17/04
Date of Sentence: 06/30/06
Circumstances of Offense:
Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin wasconvicted and sentenced to death for the murders of Cheryl Williams and Carol Bareis.
At the time of the murders, Aguirre-Jarquinwas working at a restaurant as a dishwasher and prep cook. One of his dutieswas washing the knives. He resided in Seminole County at 117 Vagabond Way. Thevictims, Cheryl Williams and Carol Bareis, lived nextdoor, along with Cheryl’s daughter, Samantha Williams. Carol was a strokevictim with partial paralysis. She was in a wheelchair most of the time.
Aguirre-Jarquin was acquaintedwith Cheryl, Carol, and Samantha and would occasionally visit them at theirhouse. Samantha testified that several months before the murders she woke up at2:00 a.m. to find Aguirre-Jarquin standing over herbed. She told him to leave, escorted him out, and locked the front door behindhim. The next day she told him that he was not to enter their home at nightwithout permission.
On June 16, 2004, Mark Van Sandt,Samantha’s boyfriend, came to visit Samantha. He arrived at approximately 7:30p.m. He and Samantha left at approximately 11:30 p.m. to stay at Mark’sparents’ house that night.
At approximately 8:45 a.m. on June 17, 2004, Mark returnedto the house to retrieve Samantha’s work clothes. He attempted to open thefront door, which was usually left unlocked. He had difficulty opening the doorbecause Cheryl’s body was blocking the entryway. Mark eventually squeezed throughthe doorway and called 911.
Deputies from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Departmentarrived on the scene. They located Cheryl’s body by the front door. They thenfound Carol lying dead on the floor in the living room. She was lying in a poolof blood next to her wheelchair.
A crime scene technician recovered a ten-inch chef’s knifefrom the crime scene. Law enforcement officers discovered that a ten-inchchef’s knife was missing from the restaurant where Aguirre-Jarquinwas employed.
At approximately 11:00 a.m. on June 17, 2004, deputies cameto 117 Vagabond Way and asked Aguirre-Jarquin and histwo roommates if they knew anything about what happened next door. Aguirre-Jarquin told the deputies that he entered the home, sawCheryl’s body, and attempted to revive her. After realizing she was dead, hediscovered Carol’s body in the living room. He picked up the knife lying nextto her body in case the killer was still in the house. After leaving the househe dropped the knife outside. He said that he did not call the police becausehe was an illegal Honduran immigrant and was afraid of being deported. Aguirre-Jarquin was then arrested for tampering with evidence froma crime scene, and was eventually indicted for murder.
Law enforcement officers searched Aguirre’s residence andretrieved a bag of clothing. The bag contained underwear, socks, a T-shirt, anda pair of shorts, all of which contained blood from both victims.
The autopsy revealed that Cheryl was stabbed 129 times.Carol’s body exhibited two stab wounds. The stab wounds on both victims wereconsistent with being caused by the chef’s knife found at the crime scene.
Trial Summary:
07/13/04 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-DegreeMurder (Cheryl Williams)
Count II: First-Degree Murder(Carol Bareis)
Count III: Burglary
02/28/06 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
03/10/06 Jury recommended death by a vote of 7-5 for Count I
03/10/06 Jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3 for Count II
06/30/06 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder − Death
Count II: First-Degree Murder –Death
Count III: Burglary − Life
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 06-1550
9 So.3d 593
07/13/06 Appeal filed
03/26/09 Appeal denied
05/27/09 Mandate issued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 09-7370
08/10/09 Petition filed
02/22/10 Petitiondenied
Circuit Court – 3.850Motion
CC# 04-2491
(Pending)
02/09/11 Motionfiled
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The case progression has been within acceptable timeparameters.
Case Information:
On 07/13/06, Aguirre-Jarquin fileda direct appeal with the Florida State Supreme Court citing the followingissues: newly discovered evidence; jury selection; denial of defendant’s motionfor acquittal on the burglary charge; admission of inappropriate testimony;jury instructions regarding aggravating factors; inappropriate application ofthe HAC and “witness elimination” aggravators.
On 08/10/09, Aguirre-Jarquin fileda Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court that wasdenied on 02/22/10.
On 02/09/11, Aguirre-Jarquin fileda 3.850 motion in the Circuit Court. That motion is pending.
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Report Date: 03/27/09 KLH
Approved: 03/27/09 KLH
Updated: 02/16/11 JJK