Robert Wayne Harris: The Mi-T-Fine Car Wash Killer
Overview
Robert Wayne Harris was an American murderer responsible for six confirmed killings in Irving, Texas, between November 1999 and March 2000. His crimes included the abduction and murder of a woman he knew, followed several months later by the calculated execution-style murders of five employees at a car wash where he had recently worked.
Harris is frequently described as a serial killer because his confirmed victims were killed during two separate events divided by several months. However, he is also classified as a mass murderer because five of his victims were killed during a single attack at the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash on March 20, 2000.
The car wash murders were motivated by a combination of revenge and robbery. Harris had been fired from the business only three days before the attack. He returned before opening time with a handgun and a knife, forced employees to lie on the floor and shot them in the back of the head. Five people were killed, one employee survived with serious injuries and another escaped before Harris could attack him.
Early Life
Robert Wayne Harris was born on February 28, 1972, in Dallas County, Texas. His childhood was marked by extreme violence. When Harris was approximately eight years old, he reportedly witnessed his father kill his mother and then take his own life. Harris was subsequently passed among relatives and experienced behavioral and educational difficulties.
He developed a pronounced stutter, attended special education classes and was reportedly bullied by other children. He left school after the ninth grade, although he later earned a General Educational Development certificate.
Harris displayed violent and destructive behavior from an early age. As a teenager, he assaulted a store employee and burglarized the home of an aunt. After his aunt reported the burglary, Harris struck her in the head with a hammer. The attack was severe enough to break the hammer. He was sent to a juvenile correctional institution for approximately two years.
Criminal History Before the Murders
As a young adult, Harris accumulated convictions for burglary. In 1991, he was implicated in three burglaries in Dallas County. He initially received probation but was later sentenced to eight years in prison after leaving a court-ordered treatment program.
Harris had a troubled disciplinary record while incarcerated. His violations reportedly included fighting, threatening prison employees, assaulting inmates and staff members, setting a fire inside his cell, possessing contraband, sexual misconduct and refusing to follow orders. He spent substantial periods in administrative segregation.
He was released under mandatory supervision on May 3, 1999. Less than seven months later, he committed his first confirmed murder.
The Murder of Sandra Scott
On November 29, 1999, Harris abducted and murdered 37-year-old Sandra Gaye Scott, who was also known as Sandi or Sandy Scott. Scott disappeared in Irving, Texas, after being seen at a service station during the evening.
Harris later claimed that he believed Scott had stolen approximately $200 from him. He took her against her will, drove her to an isolated location and fatally shot her. Her pickup truck was subsequently discovered, but Scott could not be located.
Investigators questioned Harris during the initial missing-person investigation, but they did not have enough evidence to charge him. Scott's disappearance remained unresolved until Harris was arrested for the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash murders in March 2000.
After his arrest, Harris confessed to killing Scott and directed investigators to the location of her remains near State Highway 183 in Irving. Her decomposed body was recovered on March 23, 2000. The medical examiner classified her death as a homicide caused by violent injuries.
Employment at the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash
Harris worked for approximately ten months at the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash in Irving, a city located between Dallas and Fort Worth. Employees later described him as an unpredictable man who could become angry and confrontational.
On March 15, 2000, Harris exposed himself and performed a sexual act in front of a female customer. Police were called, and Harris was arrested in connection with the incident. The management of the car wash terminated his employment on March 17, three days before the murders.
Harris became enraged over his dismissal. During the weekend following his termination, he borrowed a vehicle and obtained a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun. His actions indicated that the return to his former workplace was planned rather than spontaneous.
The Mi-T-Fine Car Wash Murders
During the early morning of March 20, 2000, Harris drove to the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash before the business opened for the day. Because he was a former employee, he knew the building, the work schedule and the procedures used to open the business.
Manager Dennis Lee, assistant manager Augustin Villasenor and cashier Rhoda Wheeler were among the first employees inside. Harris confronted them with the handgun and forced them into the office. He ordered Wheeler to open the company safe and took approximately $4,000.
After obtaining the money, Harris made the three employees lie face down on the floor. He then shot them at close range in the back of the head. Harris also cut Lee's throat with a knife.
Additional employees arrived while Harris remained inside the building. Rather than immediately fleeing with the stolen money, Harris continued the attack. He forced Benjamin Villasenor, Roberto Jimenez Jr. and Octavio Ramos onto the lobby floor and shot each of them in the back of the head.
Benjamin Villasenor and Roberto Jimenez Jr. were transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Both died from their wounds on March 20, 2000. Ramos survived but suffered catastrophic and permanent injuries.
The Escape of Jason Shields
Another employee, Jason Shields, arrived at the car wash and discovered wounded or dying coworkers inside the building. Harris initially attempted to mislead him by claiming that he had arrived and unexpectedly found the victims.
Shields became suspicious when he saw Harris reach for a knife. Realizing that he was in immediate danger, Shields ran from the car wash and entered a nearby doughnut shop, where he called 911.
Harris followed Shields to the shop. In an unusual attempt to support his false story, Harris briefly spoke with the emergency dispatcher and claimed that he had discovered the crime scene. He then left the area before police arrived.
Confirmed Victims
- Sandra Gaye Scott, 37 — Murdered on November 29, 1999, after being abducted in Irving, Texas. Harris fatally shot her and concealed her body near State Highway 183. Her remains were recovered on March 23, 2000.
- Dennis Lee, 48 — Murdered on March 20, 2000, inside the office of the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash in Irving, Texas. Lee was the car wash manager. Harris shot him in the back of the head and cut his throat.
- Rhoda Wheeler, 45 — Murdered on March 20, 2000, inside the office of the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash in Irving, Texas. Wheeler worked as a cashier and was forced to open the business safe before Harris shot her.
- Augustin Villasenor, 36 — Murdered on March 20, 2000, inside the office of the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash in Irving, Texas. Villasenor was an assistant manager and was shot in the back of the head.
- Benjamin Villasenor, 32 — Murdered on March 20, 2000, at the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash in Irving, Texas. He was Augustin Villasenor's brother. Benjamin was shot in the lobby and later died at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
- Roberto Jimenez Jr. — Murdered on March 20, 2000, at the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash in Irving, Texas. Jimenez was shot in the lobby and later died at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
Surviving Victims
Octavio Ramos survived after being shot in the back of the head during the car wash attack. He was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital in critical condition. The gunshot caused severe and permanent disabilities.
Jason Shields escaped before Harris could attack him. His decision to run to a nearby business and call 911 brought police to the car wash and prevented Harris from controlling the story surrounding the discovery of the victims.
Flight and Arrest
After leaving the car wash, Harris returned the vehicle he had borrowed. He told the owner that he had discovered bodies at his former workplace but denied responsibility for the killings.
Harris went to the home of a friend and attempted to dispose of evidence connected to the murders. He changed his clothing, obtained other items and checked into a motel. Investigators quickly identified him as the principal suspect because of his recent firing, his presence near the crime scene and witness information.
Police arrested Harris on March 21, 2000, one day after the car wash murders. He was found at the residence of an acquaintance. Investigators recovered evidence linking him to the attack, and Harris eventually confessed.
Harris reportedly told investigators that he had intended to leave Texas and travel to Florida. According to his statements, he was considering killing a former girlfriend after reaching the state. His arrest prevented any additional attack.
Additional Confessions
Following his arrest, Harris claimed responsibility for other killings in the Dallas area. Investigators examined those statements, but they could not confirm that every murder he described had actually occurred or that Harris was responsible.
His confession to Sandra Scott's murder was supported by physical evidence because he led police to her remains. The Scott homicide and the five car wash killings are therefore considered his six confirmed murders. Claims involving other possible victims remain unverified and should not be included in his confirmed total.
Trial and Conviction
Harris was prosecuted in Dallas County for capital murder. Prosecutors presented evidence showing that he deliberately returned to the car wash after being fired, armed himself, committed a robbery and executed employees who could identify him.
His familiarity with the workplace strengthened the prosecution's argument that the murders were planned. Harris knew when employees would arrive, where the safe was located and how the building was arranged.
In September 2000, a jury found Harris guilty of capital murder after a brief period of deliberation. During the punishment phase, prosecutors described his history of violence, criminal conduct and threats. They argued that he represented a continuing danger to society.
Defense attorneys presented evidence concerning Harris's traumatic childhood, psychological problems and possible intellectual limitations. Mental-health professionals discussed diagnoses that included depression, antisocial personality disorder and Tourette syndrome. The defense asked the jury to impose a life sentence rather than death.
On September 29, 2000, the jury recommended the death penalty. Harris was formally sentenced to death and transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Death-Row Appeals
Harris remained on death row for nearly twelve years. His attorneys filed state and federal appeals challenging his conviction and sentence. One of their principal arguments was that Harris had intellectual limitations that made him legally ineligible for execution.
Courts reviewed his educational history, psychological testing and ability to function in everyday situations. The appeals were ultimately rejected, and the courts allowed the execution to proceed.
Execution
Robert Wayne Harris was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas, on September 20, 2012. He was 40 years old.
Harris did not use his final statement to apologize to the victims' families. Instead, he spoke to friends and supporters, told them that he loved them and said that he was going home. The lethal dose was administered, and Harris was pronounced dead at 6:43 p.m.
Legacy of the Case
The Mi-T-Fine Car Wash murders remain one of the most disturbing workplace massacres in the history of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The attack was not an uncontrolled outburst lasting only a few seconds. Harris entered the business with weapons, forced employees into vulnerable positions, robbed the safe and methodically shot victims who were lying face down.
The murders devastated several families at once. Brothers Augustin and Benjamin Villasenor died during the same attack. Other families lost parents, children and relatives who had simply arrived for an ordinary day of work.
The case also revealed that Harris had killed before. Without his arrest for the car wash massacre, Sandra Scott's disappearance might have remained unresolved. His confession and the recovery of her remains allowed investigators to confirm that the workplace attack was not his first act of murder.
Robert Wayne Harris ultimately left six confirmed victims, one permanently injured survivor and a community deeply affected by an act of calculated revenge. His execution ended the criminal proceedings, but the consequences of his crimes continued for the families and survivors whose lives were permanently altered on November 29, 1999, and March 20, 2000.
