San Antonio Police Officer Fabian Dale Dominguez was just blocks away from home when he stopped off to investigate a burglary in progress on the morning of Jan. 15, 1995.

Dominguez, 29, pulled his car into the driveway, blocking the getaway vehicle that contained burglars Johnathan Moore, Peter Dowdle and Paul Cameron. The father of two approached the car with his gun raised and ordered the teens to surrender.

Instead, Moore drew his gun and shot Dominguez three times in the head.

Then the 19-year-old got out of the car, grabbed Dominguez's service pistol, and shot the officer three more times. Dominguez died at the scene.

Police caught up with Moore two days later, but he led them on a 20-mile car chase that ended in a crash. Cameron was arrested the same day, and Dowdle turned himself in.

Moore stood trial in 1996 on one charge of capital murder for killing a police officer during a burglary. Based on his history of mental illness, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Prosecutors claimed Moore knowingly shot a police officer in uniform. They also pointed to his repeated shooting of Dominguez — even after he was down — as evidence of his intent to kill.

Moore's lawyers never denied the murder. Instead, they tried to convince a Bexar County jury that he suffered from schizophrenia, paranoid delusions and severe depression, which prevented him from understanding his actions.

Defense psychiatrists cited Moore's troubled background, including an abusive childhood and a stint in a psychiatric hospital, as evidence of an impaired capacity for decision-making.

But state mental health experts disagreed, claiming that Moore's problems were behavioral rather than psychological. Prosecutors also introduced school and police records indicating a long history of thefts, burglaries and public mischief.

After deliberating for two hours, jurors convicted Moore of capital murder.

Several times during the trial, Moore's antics outside the jury's presence received just as much attention as the testimony.

He attempted suicide at least once while awaiting trial. In the trial's first week, deputies discovered that he tried to escape by tucking a handcuff key into his shoes.

He also attempted to fire his court-appointed attorneys, accusing them of failing to investigate allegations that prosecutors forced witnesses to lie under oath.

Before his penalty phase, Moore fired his defense team and represented himself for one day before requesting to rehire them. District Judge Sharon McCrae granted his request, prompting his attorneys to call for a competency exam and a mistrial. Both motions were denied.

Moore's mother offered a tearful plea for her son's life and blamed his crime on years of abuse by a relative and a history of depression and suicide attempts.

Prosecutors countered her pleas with statements from law enforcement officers, former teachers and friends who testified to Moore's propensity for violence and his "obsession" with satanism, the Goth subculture and punk music.

The jury took four hours to sentence Moore to death. Members of the San Antonio Police Department applauded the sentence as it was read.

Moore appealed his convictions based on ineffective counsel claims for failing to investigate his competency to stand trial. His claims were denied, and his execution was scheduled for Wednesday evening.

On Friday, his girlfriend, Naomi Madsen of New York, filed for a marriage license at his request.

"I don't need the piece of paper, but I wanted to make him happy before he dies," said Madsen, whose nickname, Lily, is tattooed on Moore's knuckles. "I'm in love with him."

Moore says he has accepted his fate and now is more concerned with earning co-defendant Paul Cameron a reduced sentence.

Cameron was also convicted of capital murder as a party to the crime for allegedly coaxing Moore into shooting the officer. He received a life sentence.

Peter Dowdle, the driver, received a 25-year sentence on an organized crime charge for his role in the shooting.

"[Paul Cameron] is not guilty of capital murder. He should get some kind of relief, hopefully," Moore said. "I'm trying to help him in any way I can because capital murder, life sentence, 40-year minimum, for a case he wasn't all the way down with in the first place is just wrong."