An appeal was denied for the man convicted of killing his ex-wife in McAllen.

Richard Ford was sentenced to life without parole in 2024 after being found guilty of killing his ex-wife, Melissa Banda, in 2020.

Ford filed an appeal to overturn his conviction.

According to court documents, Ford claimed the court made an error in denying his motions to suppress evidence and denying his request for an instruction on the lesser-included offense of kidnapping.

On August 6, 2020, the McAllen Police Department was alerted that Banda was missing. Surveillance footage showed Banda arriving at her home and Ford arriving shortly after while exiting a Dodge Journey and forcing Banda into the car before driving away.

The lead detective, Investigator John Adame, testified he used the city of McAllen's Milestone surveillance system to identify the license plate of the Dodge. They also used the system to track the car's route in the city, which revealed Ford had been following Banda throughout the day.

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Records showed the Dodge was a rental from Avis Car Rental. An Avis representative confirmed Ford was the one renting the car and provided the car's GPS location, which was at the dead end of Highway 100 on South Padre Island.

Officers saw bloodstains outside the Dodge that was later determined to be Banda's. After Ford was arrested, officers found a silver Ford F-150 parked in the Avis parking lot and seized it.

Adame testified he obtained a warrant for Avis' historical location data of the Dodge. The information revealed the car stopped at a rural location in La Blanca, where Banda's body was found.

According to court documents, the court denied his request for an instruction on the lesser-included offense of kidnapping. The court said there was overwhelming evidence that he murdered Banda and that he failed to establish that the jury would have rationally only convicted him of kidnapping and not murder.

The evidence Ford motioned to suppress included location data from the Milestone surveillance system, GPS location of the rental vehicle obtained from Avis, and the search and seizure of the Ford F-150, according to court documents.

Ford claims the search from the Milestone system was unconstitutional since the law forbids tracking a person's movement without a warrant, according to court documents. A defendant can contest a search when they have a "legitimate expectation of privacy in the space being invaded by the government."

The use of the Milestone surveillance system was not an illegal search since the cameras are in high-traffic public areas, which are used to enforce traffic regulations, and a public roadway is not "typically an area where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy," according to court documents.

Court documents said the court found the GPS data from Avis was admissible because it was obtained due to an emergency situation. The search and seizure of Ford's truck was also legal because authorities had probable cause.