Amarillo -- Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matthew Chandler announced today that a Clovis grand jury returned indictments against Daniel Murrell (age 24) and Terrill Smolar (age 20) for their alleged involvement in two armed robberies that occurred on January 2nd and January 4th in Clovis. Both men are being held in Curry County Adult Detention Center.
One of the victims of the robberies, Joe Garcia, age 61, was treated and released by a hospital for a head injury he received in the second alleged robbery. Two days after being released from the hospital, Mr. Garcia passed away. The District Attorney's Office has not yet received an opinion from the Office of the Medical Examiner at this time on the manner and cause of death of Mr. Garcia.
Mr. Murrell faces up to 36 years in prison if convicted on the charges returned today by the grand jury, and Mr. Smolar faces up to 12 years in prison for his alleged involvement.
The Grand jury indicted the defendants on the following charges:
Charges returned against Daniel Murrell:
2nd Degree Armed Robbery (2 counts);
Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery;
Bribery of a Witness (threats of reporting);
Theft of a Credit Card;
Fraudulent Use of an Illegally Obtained Credit Card (11 counts);
Possession of a Firearm by a Felon;
Tampering with Evidence; and
Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon.
Charges returned against Terrill Smolar:
Both men are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
