CLEVELAND-The FOX 8 I-Team has learned one of Northeast Ohio’s most notorious killers tried to take back his guilty plea for the sex assault and murder of Gloria Pointer, a teen attacked on her way to school.
Hernandez Warren confessed and pleaded guilty in 2014 after decades on the run. But, records show, months ago, he tried to withdraw his guilty plea to “correct a manifest injustice.”
Cuyahoga County prosecutors say the court denied the request, and there are no other appeals pending. But all this has put a spotlight on a crime that touched Cleveland and even the world.
Since the crime, Yvonne Pointer has done good works in her daughter’s name, locally and internationally.
Yvonne Pointer reacted to the killer’s attempt to get a second chance in court. She said, “I mean, are you sorry that you got caught? Or sorry that you did it? Which one are you sorry for?” She added, “And my first thought was, you don’t get a do-over. The people, the person that you murdered didn’t get a chance to back out of the fact whether she wanted to live or die.”
Warren is serving a sentence of 30-life.
In 2014, he told the victim’s family, “I cannot ask for forgiveness when I do not deserve it.”
But in court filings, Warren complained about bad lawyers, and he said police forced his confession.
Yet Cuyahoga County prosecutors argued the evidence showed Warren was guilty, and he entered into a plea deal fully understanding every step in the process.
Warren could have faced the death penalty.
Prosecutors say now that the attempt to withdraw the plea failed, it appears Warren has no other options to fight. But there’s no guarantee he won’t try to file something else.
The latest developments ended up under a spotlight after one of Yvonne’s sisters had done some checking up on Hernandez Warren.
Yvonne Pointer said, “So, I think the best thing to do is man up. You know you did this, and let us all just go on with our lives.”
