TEXARKANA, Texas -A man accused of killing two young boys when he intentionally crashed into the van they were riding in earlier this year will not face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder.
Zachary Blaise Salazar, 21, appeared with Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson for arraignment on two charges of capital murder and four counts of aggravated assault before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Harrelson entered pleas of not guilty to all charges on Salazar's behalf.
First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told the court her office is not seeking the death penalty for Salazar.
Crisp said Salazar's history of mental illness is the basis for the state's decision to take the death penalty off the table. If convicted of capital murder in the deaths of 3-year-old James Crowley and 7-year-old Riley Burgess, Salazar will receive an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
The assault charges stemming from injuries sustained by other occupants of the van are punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
Salazar is being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $5 million. He's been in custody since his arrest following the crash the night of Jan. 13.
Salazar was allegedly upset with his girlfriend, spoke of crashing his truck and made good on the threat within minutes of leaving the woman's DeKalb, Texas, residence the night of Jan. 13, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Moments after being asked to leave his pregnant girlfriend's home, she and her family heard police sirens and traveled to the scene of the deadly crash at about 10:30 p.m.
Witnesses, including a man who was pulling into a nearby fast food restaurant, the driver of the van and other occupants of the van, said Salazar was driving eastbound on U.S. Highway 82 at a high rate of speed with his truck's bright lights on.
The driver of the van told officers that when he observed Salazar's pickup coming into his westbound lane he attempted to avoid a collision by pulling to the edge of the roadway but "Salazar continued tracking his vehicle until causing the collision," the affidavit states.
At the crime scene, Salazar's girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child, reportedly told investigators that she and Salazar had been arguing via Facebook Messenger about their relationship and living arrangements. The girlfriend reported that she and Salazar had only been dating a couple of months when she became pregnant, the affidavit states.
The girlfriend said she blocked Salazar from her Facebook account after he sent her messages threatening to kill himself or someone else. Salazar allegedly showed up uninvited at the girlfriend's apartment about 45 minutes later. When asked to leave by the girlfriend's family, Salazar allegedly said, "F-- it, I'll go wreck," according to the affidavit.
Under Texas law a person may be charged with capital murder if they intentionally kill two or more people during the same criminal episode or in the killing of a person under 10 years of age.
Tidwell scheduled Salazar for a pretrial hearing July 1.