George Rivas

George Rivas (born May 6, 1970) was the ringleader of the infamous Texas 7 criminal group. Rivas, a career criminal, is on Death Row in Texas. He became the 642nd person captured as a direct result of America's Most Wanted.

He was born in El Paso, Texas and raised by his grandparents from age six, after his parents divorced. In high school, Rivas dreamed of being a police officer, but his interest in money and guns helped shape him into a criminal. He named his dogs Ruger and Beretta, after two gun brands.

One year after graduating from Ysleta High School, he committed his first robbery and burglary. Since he had no prior criminal record, he was sentenced to ten years of probation. Meanwhile, he enrolled as a general studies major at the University of Texas at El Paso. He dropped out after three semesters, in the spring of 1993.

He eventually committed a string of robberies. He robbed a Radio Shack in El Paso on October 3, 1992;On October 23, he robbed a Checker's Auto Parts store. About two weeks later, he robbed an Oshman's sporting goods store.On May 12, 1993, he robbed a Furr's Grocery store in El Paso; and on May 25, 1993, Rivas and a friend robbed a Toys "Я" Us. He was arrested after this robbery and suspected of having robbed stores in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Rivas was sentenced to 18 life sentences in prison, 17 of them consecutive. After a few years, he developed a plan to escape.

Rivas, along with six other men, broke out of the John Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas on December 13, 2000. The following day, on December 14, he and his teammates robbed a Radio Shack in Pearland, Texas. On December 24, the group robbed an Oshman's in Irving, Texas. He and his group shot and killed a police officer named Aubrey Hawkins. The reward for him and his accomplices grew after the infamous robbery and murder.

Rivas was arrested at a trailer park in Colorado on January 23, 2001 inside a Jeep Cherokee, with Joseph Garcia and Michael Anthony Rodriguez. Three others – Randy Halprin, Patrick Murphy and Donald Newbury, were arrested over the next two days. Larry Harper killed himself.

Rivas was extradited to Texas, tried and sentenced to death – the penalty he asked for. He is still on death row. Subsequent to his conviction, Rivas married a woman he corresponded with throughout his capital murder trial.

References

* [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/rivasgeorge.htm Offender information, Texas Department of Criminal Justice]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407EFDF1230F933A0575BC0A9679C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fA%2fAttacks%20on%20Police "Escapee Gets Death Sentence", New York Times]
* [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/12/25/national/main259624.shtml "Prison Escapee: I Deserve to Die", CBS News]