By Brian Anderson
Valley Times

Sept. 11, 2001

OAKLAND — The widow of a Pittsburg armored car guard gunned down nearly four years ago told jurors Monday that the man facing execution for the killing stole the life of her best friend.

Pausing at times to control her tears, Marlene Cortez spoke for the first time in the trial of Thomas Wheelock, 24. She told jurors about her nearly sleepless night spent worrying about her missing husband Rodrigo Cortez, 30.

She recalled her frantic calls to his cell phone and pager that were never returned, and a midnight call from her husband's company asking if he had returned home.

And then there was a final call from an Oakland police sergeant who confirmed her fears -- her husband of nearly seven years was dead, she said.

"I threw the phone," Cortez said. "I started screaming.

"It's very hard because I don't have my best friend with me anymore."

The next day, she said, her son Riley Cortez learned that his father was gone forever.

"I went to him and said his dad is in heaven and that he was never going to come home," Marlene Cortez said. "He just looked at me and never said a word."

Wheelock trembled and quietly wiped tears from his eyes as she spoke.

Cortez was the first witness to testify during the penalty phase of Wheelock's trial, during which jurors will determine whether the San Ramon man should be sentenced to death for the killing. The five-man, seven-woman jury convicted the former armored car guard last week of killing Cortez on Nov. 24, 1997, then making off with nearly $300,000 in cash.

Assistant district attorney Jim Anderson called only Cortez to the stand Monday and concluded his case after little more than 30 minutes of testimony that was preceded by a 21/2-minute opening statement.

"That was tearful," Anderson said as he left the courtroom during a break. "That was horrible. You ask them to bare their soul and it's just terrible."

Assistant public defender Michael Ogul apologized to Cortez for the killing and briefly questioned her about the woman's homes in Pittsburg and Las Vegas, as well as the academic success of her son.

Wheelock's father Gerald Wheelock was again called to testify Monday. He told jurors under questioning by Ogul that his son apologized to him for the killing shortly after he was arrested and that their relationship has grown stronger since Thomas Wheelock was caught in Utah.

"I don't want to lose my son," Gerald Wheelock said, breaking into tears as at least one juror wiped her eyes. "(We have) structured our life around Tom to make sure we're with him more."

During his opening statement, Ogul said the jury's verdict ensured that Wheelock would die in jail. It would be up to them, he said, whether his death would be from natural causes or execution.

"Remember, you are not just deciding a punishment for a criminal," Ogul said. "You are determining the punishment for a life."

Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday.