Bio 

James Roy Knox was born on July 12, 1951. In 1973, Knox pleaded guilty in Alabama to robbery and received a 12-year prison sentence. That robbery also involved a pharmacy, handguns, and the attempt to obtain strong drugs. During that crime, Knox and an accomplice subdued people inside the pharmacy and fled with money and drugs. He was later paroled before committing the Galveston pharmacy murder.

By 1982, Knox was associated with people who later testified that he planned to rob Joe’s Pharmacy Center in Galveston. Witnesses said he believed the robbery would be easy because the pharmacy had no cameras and could provide both drugs and money.

Murder Story

On November 10, 1982, James Roy Knox entered Joe’s Pharmacy Center in Galveston, Texas. The pharmacy was owned by Joseph “Joe” Sanchez, a 39-year-old pharmacist. Sanchez and his assistant, Ronald Dyda, were preparing to close the store when Knox approached the counter with a pistol and demanded money and drugs.

Knox ordered Sanchez and Dyda to get down on the floor. Dyda complied, but Sanchez remained standing and told Knox that he had no drugs and that Knox would not get away with the crime. Knox handed Dyda medical tape and ordered him to bind Sanchez’s hands, but Sanchez resisted and Dyda could not secure them.

As the confrontation continued, Knox became angry. He threatened both men and then shot Sanchez. The bullet struck Sanchez in the heart and severed his spine. After the shooting, Knox pointed the gun at Dyda and again demanded drugs and money. Dyda gave him four small brown bottles of Demerol and cash from the register. Knox then fled the store.

Several people nearby heard the gunshot and saw a man running from the pharmacy area holding brown medicine bottles. One witness saw the man get into a dark brown car with a light-colored top, which then drove away. At trial, Dyda identified Knox as the gunman, and other witnesses identified him as the man fleeing the scene.

George Holland later testified that he had driven the getaway car. According to Holland, Knox said after the robbery, “The man got ignorant with me. I had to shoot him.” Other witnesses also testified that Knox talked about the robbery and shooting afterward.

Knox was first convicted of capital murder on December 5, 1985, and sentenced to death. His conviction was affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1987, but the Fifth Circuit later reversed the conviction because of improper jury instructions. Knox was retried and again convicted on June 22, 1994, and he was again sentenced to death.

His later appeals were denied. On September 18, 2001, James Roy Knox was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas.