Phoenix Baseline Murder Case

Sept. 14, 2009 - PRLog -- http://freedomattorney.blogspot.com/2009/09/notice-of-claim-against-phoenix-police.html



September 8, 2009
Allison Sedowski
Phoenix Police Crime Laboratory
Phoenix Police Department
620 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85003

RE: NOTICE OF CLAIM PUSUANT TO
A.R.S. § 12-821.01

Decedent: Romelia Vargas
Date of Death: February 4, 2006

Dear Ms. Sedowski,

This firm represents the heirs of Romelia Vargas.

This letter shall serve as a Notice of Claim pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-821.01. The heirs of
Romelia Vargas intend to pursue litigation for Romelia’s wrongful death against the abovenamed
recipient of this claim letter if the following claim is not accepted.

This Notice of Claim letter contains a fair and accurate description of the recipient’s
intentional, reckless and grossly negligent conduct. The full and complete facts regarding this
claim are in possession of the Phoenix Police Department. This Notice of Claim will serve,
however, as a reasonable foundation for representatives of the Phoenix Police Department to
fully and completely investigate the circumstances of the claim and reach an informed decision
about whether to settle.

This Notice of Claim letter also contains a fair, reasonable, and firm demand for
compensation. Based on the particular facts of this matter and our research regarding wrongful
death settlements and awards, we believe the amount demanded for Romelia’s heirs is reasonable and will be accepted if offered by any recipient of this Notice of Claim letter.

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Page 2

The Claimants:

The nature of the claim is a wrongful death action pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-611 et seq. As
Romelia's surviving spouse, Alvin Hogue will bring this action for and on behalf of himself, as
the surviving spouse, and Ms. Vargas’ surviving children, Kenia Valdovinos, age 21, Jesus
Valdovinos, age 19, Melissa Valdovinos, age 17, and Travis Silvano Hogue and Anthony
Emiliano Hogue, both age 3. A summary of each claimant follows.

Alvin, 51, married Romelia on April 26, 2003. Mr. Hogue was a Motor Transport
Operator in the United States Army from 1978 to 1985 and was then employed as a transport
operator for Arizona Materials in Phoenix Arizona. Mr. Hogue was recently placed on furlough
by his employer and at present is unemployed.


Twins Travis and Anthony were 5 months old at the time of their mother’s death.
Anthony is a special needs child; he was born with Down’s syndrome. At the present time,
Anthony is enrolled in ACCESS and receives care from Alvin, who provides for both of the
twins’ full time care. Anthony will have special needs for the remainder of his life.
Kenia was living with and being supported by Alvin and Romelia at the time of her
mother’s death. She is a high school graduate who left the family home after her mother’s
demise.

She is self supporting.
Jesus was also living with and being supported by Alvin and Romelia at the time of his
mother’s death. Jesus left the family home after his mother's untimely demise. He has his GED
and is self supporting.

Finally, Melissa lived with and was being supported by Alvin and Romelia at the time of
her mother’s death. She presently lives with Kenia and attends Greenway High School as a
junior, where she is engaged in the usual teenage pursuits.

The Decedent:

At the time of her untimely demise, Romelia was 37 years old. As described above, she
had 6 children. All of those children except her son Eric, born April 20001, lived with her at the
time of her death.

Approximately 6 months before her demise, Romelia purchased a catering truck in order
to pursue a small business opportunity. She had worked in the catering business for some years
before purchasing her own truck. Romelia’s income figures show that she earned gross taxable
income of approximately $150/day, or $750/wk, and that her business was doing well. Both she
and Alvin anticipated that her business would continue to expand.

1 Eric is not a party to this claim.
2
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Page 3
At the time of her demise, Romelia provided financial and emotional support to all of her
children. Although she did not earn a significant wage, she gave to her children the resources
she could, and each of the children received what money was necessary for their care and
upkeep. She maintained a close emotional relationship with her children. Her children looked to
her for support and comfort in their daily lives, as all children do. Furthermore, Romelia
provided the usual routine services a mother does by providing a clean, safe, home environment
and serving as an example of hard work to her children.

Obviously, Romelia's children are devastated by the tragic loss of their mother.
Alvin maintained a close and loving relationship with Romelia throughout their marriage.
As normal spouses, they lived, worked, and enjoyed life together. They relied on each other for
emotional love and support. Alvin’s loss is as tragic and profound as the loss suffered by
Romelia’s children.

Romelia was a good and honest person who was brutally murdered in the truck she hoped
to use to provide for her and her family. The loss to the dependents of love, comfort, and
companionship is immense. The economic loss suffered as a result of her absence, both as a
wage earner and manager of the family, is substantial.


The Facts:

Mark Goudeau

On September 20, 2005, Mark Goudeau (“Goudeau”) approached two sisters who were
walking home from a city park. He held a gun to one sister’s pregnant stomach and forced the
two into the bushes, where he forced them to strip and continued to hold a gun to the pregnant
sister’s stomach while he sexually assaulted the other sister. Phoenix Police eventually obtained
two DNA samples. The swabs were taken from one of the sister’s left and right breasts, which
Goudeau licked and later rubbed with dirt in an attempt to get rid of his saliva.

At that time, police were not aware that Goudeau was responsible for the September 8,
2005 murder of Georgia Thompson outside her Tempe apartment. Goudeau shot Thompson in
the head a single time. Police also did not realize that Goudeau previously committed sexual
assaults in Phoenix on August 6, 2005, August 14, 2005, and September 15, 2005.

After the sexual assault on September 20, 2005, Goudeau’s crime spree continued with a
September 28, 2005 robbery in Tempe and sexual assault and robbery in Phoenix, then a
November 3, 2005 robbery and sexual assault in Phoenix. Goudeau was also responsible for a
string of three separate robberies in Phoenix on November 7, 2005. On December 12, 2005,
Goudeau murdered pre-school teacher Tina Washington, who was on her way home from the
preschool where she worked. Goudeau shot Washington in the face. On December 13, 2005,
Goudeau committed yet another robbery in Phoenix.

3
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Two months later, Goudeau brutally shot Romelia and her co-worker, Mirna Palma-
Roman, to death inside Romelia's catering truck in Phoenix on February 20, 2006. On March 15,
2006, he committed yet another double homicide in Phoenix, this time shooting two employees
of Yoshi’s Fast Food Restaurant in the head. Goudeau was also responsible for the March 29,
2006 murder of Kristin Nicole Gibbons. As he did with multiple other victims, Goudeau shot
Gibbons in the head.

On April 10, 2006, Sophia Nunez's eight-year-old son found his mother, Sophia Nunez
dead in her bathtub. Goudeau shot her as well. Next, Goudeau committed a May 1, 2006 sexual
assault at gunpoint outside the same restaurants he robbed on November 7, 2005, and finally, he murdered Carmen Miranda on June 29, 2006 in Phoenix. Goudeau abducted Miranda from a
self-serve carwash near the scene of his May 1, 2006 and November 7, 2005 crimes.

More Here:

http://freedomattorney.blogspot.com/2009/09/notice-of-cla...

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Mr. Victor has provided criminal attorney representation in Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix and all of Arizona since 1994. As an attorney in Phoenix he has been consistently interviewed by the press as a legal expert. He has been quoted numerous times on television, radio and in newspapers. Mr. Victor has presented many lectures on the criminal justice system. He has lectured to judges, prosecutors and police officers. He has authored several articles on the criminal justice system, some of which have been published nationally and recognized internationally.

Marc J. Victor has represented clients in more than a thousand major felony cases including first and second degree murder, sex cases, gun cases, major drug cases, complex white collar cases, federal appeals, and other complex state and federal matters. Jury trial experience includes several murder trials including death eligible matters as well as complex sex cases.