Rosenberg killer faces execution on today

LIVINGSTON — Lionell Rodriguez set out to imitate movie villains who hand out the ultimatum: "Your money or your life."

But when the 19-year-old from Rosenberg's Little Mexico neighborhood settled on a victim, he never gave her a choice. Instead, he pulled the trigger on a M-1 carbine rifle — shattering Tracy Gee's skull before stealing her car.

Rodriguez is scheduled to be executed on today for the Sept. 5, 1990, murder of Gee, 22. If carried out, Rodriguez would be the 16th inmate put to death this year in Texas.

During a death row interview, the 36-year-old avoided talking about the murder, saying he didn't want to put himself through the ordeal. Although Rodriguez said he's accepted responsibility for his life and for taking Gee's, he said he's changed, matured and become more spiritual over the past 17 years. Above all, Rodriguez said, he doesn't want to appear like a depraved monster.

"Don't make me look any worse than I already do," Rodriguez pleaded.

At about 2 a.m. that September, Rodriguez and his cousin, James Gonzales, 17, wanted to live out "some of that movie stuff" and had planned to hold up a gas station, Rodriguez told police later.

But the station was too busy, and they lost their nerve, records show. As they drove around, another motorist somehow angered Rodriguez and he fired several rounds at his car. By the time they pulled beside Gee's Honda at a Meyerland-area intersection, Gonzales' Oldsmobile was almost out of gas.

Gee was alone in her car — an ideal target.

Gonzales leaned back in his passenger seat as Rodriguez pointed his stepfather's rifle at the woman. He meant to shoot her shoulder, but shot her in the temple, he said in his confession. Rodriguez shoved Gee's body onto the street and sped away in her car, which was covered in blood and brain matter.

Moments later, a police officer pulled Gonzales over because his car's taillights were out. Afraid he would be implicated in Gee's murder, Gonzales ran off. When he was caught, Gonzales blurted: "I did not kill that girl. It was my cousin."

Rodriguez, still behind the wheel of Gee's car, was arrested near his Rosenberg home.

During the recent interview, Rodriguez mentioned alcohol and a troubled youth as possible reasons he wound up on death row.

"It should've never happened," Rodriguez said. "Not only did I bring so much pain and heartache to the Gee family, but also to my family. I destroyed two families. ... Of all the pain I caused, I'm ashamed."

Rodriguez said he wanted to hold off on a formal apology until he delivers his final statement before his execution. It would sound more sincere in person, he explained.

Suzanne Gee, Tracy Gee's sister, said neither she nor other family members wished to comment for this report.

Tracy Gee had worked late that night at the Houston City Club, where she was an assistant manager. She had to work double shifts to cover for her sister, the club's manager, who was pregnant. Computer trouble forced Gee to work later than usual, court records show. She was found later, face down in a pool of blood.

Three years after her murder, the Tracy Gee Community Center opened in the Westchase area. Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack, who represents Precinct 3, said he wanted to make sure people remember the young woman.

Gee's murder chilled the community.

Houston motorists looked over their shoulders while at traffic lights. Beyond fear, there was outrage. Rodriguez killed Gee when he was on parole after serving three months of a seven-year sentence for burglary. Then his 1991 murder conviction was tossed out, and he was granted another trial.

During that second trial, jurors heard about Rodriguez's troubled past, including his parents' divorce and his upbringing with an abusive, alcoholic father, who often offered his son beer and marijuana. But jurors were unmoved and sent him back to death row.

"People on juries," Rodriguez said, "they actually believe we'll never change for the better. They figure we're better off dead. But people change with time."

All of Rodriguez's appeals have been exhausted and no other court filings are expected, a spokesman in the Texas Attorney General's Office said.

Prosecutor Roe Wilson, chief of Harris County's post-conviction writs division, said the execution is "a long time coming."

"I certainly think since the case was tried twice and it's a horrific offense, the execution needs to be carried out," she said.

Rodriguez said he knows his chances of avoiding death are slim. As he recalls the past, Rodriguez said he hopes that Gee's family can forgive him. The conversation circles back to that September night.

Why didn't he just let Gee walk away?

"It makes no sense at all," he answered. "You can't explain that. It's a tragedy. It's tragic."

rosanna.ruiz@chron.com