The three - Dennis Schlieper, 19, of Troy; Levi Gameson, 20, of Moody; and Collin Mayo, 19, of Temple - were among seven people who vandalized churches, a cemetery and houses in June 2007.
All of the defendants are expected back in the courtroom Aug. 13 when testimony aimed at helping Judge Fancy Jezek determine appropriate punishments will continue.
The delay in continuing the hearing is due to the schedules of the four attorneys involved.
On Friday, four people took the stand. Patricia Benoit, managerial consultant for Hillcrest Cemetery in Temple where 65 headstones were vandalized, testified for more than an hour about the history and cost of the damaged headstones.
Mayo’s mother, father and football coach testified on his behalf and helped shed light on possible motivations for Mayo’s behavior.
District Attorney Henry Garza helped ratchet up the intensity in the courtroom when he cross-examined Mayo’s father and his Troy High School football coach, Grady Rowe.
Mr. Mayo shared with the court how surprised he was in June 2007 to learn about his son’s crime and how out of character it was for his son.
Mr. Mayo said that one thing that influenced his son’s behavior was the suicide of an uncle whom Mayo was close to. Initially, the family told Mayo that his uncle died in a car accident but Mayo found out the truth three months before the spree.
“He questioned his faith. It made him angry with God,” Mr. Mayo said.
Garza was unmoved by Mayo’s story.
“I believe it’s proper your son goes to the penitentiary,” he said. “It’s not a grave, it’s 65 graves … If somebody knocked down your mamma’s grave, they shouldn’t go to jail? Then multiply it by 64 times.”
Rowe described how he was a victim of the spree because the group slashed two tires on his car. He said he was shocked when he learned Mayo was involved because Mayo is a “yes sir, no sir type of kid - always very respectful.”
Sometime after the vandalism, Rowe said Mayo met with him in his office at school and apologized for playing a part in slashing his tires. He said Mayo was suspended from the football team for a year but also said he was a kid worth saving.
Like Mayo’s mother and father, Rowe asked Judge Jezek that Mayo be given deferred probation, which allows for the conviction to be wiped from his record if he successfully completes the terms of probation.
Garza made it clear multiple times that the state wants more than probation.
“They targeted churches, religious artifacts, Bibles, stained glass - institutions we respect,” Garza said. “We don’t tolerate this. We don’t think this is a probation case.
“They did $200,000 worth of damage but, quite frankly, it’s the places - a cemetery and churches.”
At one point Rowe started to try and explain that Garza did not know Mayo like he did and Garza quickly cut him off.
“Coach, I’ve seen people coming in and out of this courtroom for 21 years,” he said. “We won’t be asking for probation. It will be just the opposite.”
Mrs. Benoit testified about the damage to granite and marble headstones, statues and figurines. The damage at Hillcrest alone was estimated at about $100,000.
“They used oil-based spray paint to paint nasty words ending in K,” she said.
In addition, the group blacked out the eyes on statues of angels and the Virgin Mary, painted pentagrams on the chest of an 8-foot tall Jesus statue and damaged other smaller figurines.
“The real issue with the figurines is not the dollar cost but the emotional cost,” Mrs. Benoit said.
At a church in Troy, the group smashed a stained glass window, painted a pentagram in a Bible and painted male genitalia on a back wall.
“I don’t think he understood the impact of what he was doing,” Mr. Mayo said about his son. “He does now.”
Mayo has seen three counselors since being arrested.
Three of the other people involved in the spree were juveniles, a fourth woman, Kristen Solis, of Temple, has a hearing scheduled for Aug. 4.
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