SAN ANTONIO – A capital murder case dating back to 2016 is still awaiting a trial date.
D’Anthony Carter, now 25, was charged with the robbery and murder of a convenience store clerk when he was 18.
On June 7, 2016, Zachary Benavidez, 23, was working at the Diamond Food Mart on Vance Jackson when Carter and Olanda Taylor, 18, allegedly walked in to rob the store.
Benavidez struggled with one of the teens and was shot seven times and a customer was hit once in the leg.
Taylor has since taken a plea deal and is awaiting sentencing but Carter’s case has seen many delays.
Carter has had about seven different defense attorneys withdraw from the case, and more recently the case was transferred to a different district court.
Eduardo Jimenez, Carter’s current attorney asked for another reset after filing motions regarding what he said were improper warrants executed by San Antonio police on Carter’s cell phone.
“Any information that flows from these defective warrants should be suppressed,” Jimenez said.
Both Carter and Taylor were identified after images from the robbery were released to law enforcement and media outlets.
Carter, a former all-state cornerback for Stevens High School, was identified by two of his coaches and his high school counselor. New Braunfels police recognized Taylor.
Jimenez had the following to say when KSAT asked if he believes the case will go to trial this year:
“If we don’t go to trial this year I think the DA might want to hear about that,” Jimenez said.
When Carter does go to trial, the death penalty is not on the table, so if found guilty he would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole.