Dickinson teen who lured man to his death called to stand A teen who pled “true” to her involvement in luring a Dickinson man to his death was called to the stand Wednesday (3/27/2024) morning. “True” is the equivalent to “guilty,” but applies to minors. Harley Buell, 17, talked about her involvement in the murder of Brendan Hawkins, 19. One of the conditions for her 10-year probation was that she had to give an honest testimony in Angel Josue Velasquez-Pineda’s trial. Buell was taken into the custody of the Galveston County Juvenile Justice Department recently to assure she would testify in court. Buell, who was 15 at the time, said she lured Hawkins to the spot where he would ultimately be murdered. However, she thought the men who told her to set it up would only rob or jump him. She’s also the former girlfriend of the defendant, Velasquez-Pineda, who was 20 when they dated. Buell said she knew Hawkins through Snapchat and that they would occasionally smoke marijuana or do Xanax. She claimed her and Hawkins never dated and were just friends. Buell said “Lil Louis” and Hector Jose Gonzalez-Vega told her how to lure Hawkins to the Dickinson Civic Pool. She said that she was not told the full plan. Additionally, she claimed that her boyfriend, Angel, was not there when they made the plans, but helped carry them out despite his lack of knowledge. The murder of Brendan Hawkins occurred on May 7, 2022. That night, it started with Buell being dropped off by the 3 men at the front of the Creekside Apartments, where she would meet Hawkins to go buy some cigarillos at the nearby smoke shop. Hawkins went inside the shop and realized he didn’t have money. She said he left her at the store front and walked back home to get money. She claimed that a few minutes later she also left, but in the opposite direction because she received a call. Hawkins walked in the direction of the civic pool, which led to the apartments, while Buell went the back route to the complex. Buell told jurors that despite being outdoors, she never heard gunshots. During her testimony, Velasquez-Pineda’s court appointed defense attorney Margaret Hindman called out Buell for saying “I don’t know” more than 40 times. She did this as it is in Buell’s probation conditions to answer honestly and truthfully. Shortly after, Buell told jurors that Angel told her on the night of the murder that he killed Hawkins. Buell was then released from the stand and back into the custody of the Galveston County Juvenile Justice Department in Texas City, where she will eventually be released. Angel Josue Velasquez-Pineda was the second of two charged to go to trial for the murder of Hawkins. His co-defendant, Hector Jose Gonzalez-Vega, 26, of La Marque, had his case dismissed after there were missing witnesses for his jury trial on November 13, 2023. “Missing witnesses” could be ones who were not able to be found or ones not willing to cooperate. The state and defense both rested at 4:20 PM, Wednesday (3/27/2024). The trial broke for the day at 4:25 PM. They will resume at 9 AM, Thursday (3/28/2024).

Posted by i45NOW Joey at 2024-03-27 21:09:52 UTC