1991 The Roar R. L. Turner High School Carrollton, Dallas Co., Texas Junior Class Photo

 

OBITUARY Teen-age debate judge fatally shot - San Antonio police say he had just left contest The Dallas Morning News - Tuesday, January 26, 1993 Author: Melanie Lewis, Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News Brian Michael Guynes used to kick himself for not joining the debate team earlier than his junior year at R.L. Turner High School. And in the eight months since his graduation last spring, Mr. Guynes devoted hours to helping others succeed at the activity. The Farmers Branch resident was doing just that over the weekend when he was felled by a bullet in San Antonio. Mr. Guynes, 19, was killed Saturday night while returning to his hotel after judging a debate tournament at a high school. He had traveled to the city with eight members of Turner's debate team. "He really loved debate,' said Gina Wilkinson, the school's debate coach. "He was devoted to it.' Ms. Wilkinson said the young man drove to San Antonio with the Carrollton high school team early Friday morning and helped judge competitions late into the night. They all returned to the debating arena Saturday morning, but in the evening, the team left before Mr. Guynes because he was selected to judge a final round. "When he wasn't back by midnight, I was a little concerned, but I thought they might have run longer than expected,' Ms. Wilkinson said. At 3:45 a.m., the front desk called to say the police were in the lobby to talk to her. Mr. Guynes had been found in his car, which had crashed into concrete construction barriers on a road near the hotel. Police first suspected a traffic accident but then found that Mr. Guynes had a bullet wound on the left side of his head. "The car was still in gear and running, he was strapped in and he still had his wallet,' said San Antonio police Sgt. Mike Ross. "We have no idea why this happened.' Police speculate that Mr. Guynes was at a stop sign when he was shot. His foot would have fallen off the brake pedal, causing the car to roll forward into the barriers. "It could have started out as a robbery or carjacking, and they got scared and ran after the shooting,' Sgt. Ross said. Mr. Guynes' death has stunned the debate team, which lost a member earlier this year in a car accident, Ms. Wilkinson said. Mr. Guynes had made a valuable contribution to the team during his two years as a member and after graduation, debate team members said. "Last year, he taught me and a friend everything we know about debate,' said junior Alan Baily. Alan said Mr. Guynes was patient with students new to the tactics of debate. He would spend hours after school this year teaching students how to write papers used in debates. He seemed to be a natural speaker and knew a lot about philosophy, Alan said. "He liked to have his opinions heard,' said Mr. Guynes' father, Larry. He couldn't afford to go to college full time this year but held two jobs to earn money toward tuition. In the morning, he worked a temporary full-time job at a warehouse. In the afternoon, he'd attend classes at Brookhaven Community College. Weekends were spent selling shoes at a department store. The debate team plans to present a plaque in Mr. Guynes' honor at a tournament next month. It also hopes to establish a scholarship in his name, Ms. Wilkinson said. Mr. Guynes is survived by his father and mother, Jo Ellen, and his 12-year-old brother, Travis.   The Dallas Morning News - Apr 24, 1960 Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams

Teen found dead after crash had been shot in the head Author: Associated Press SAN ANTONIO - A North Texas teen-ager found dead after his car careened through construction barricades on an expressway had been shot in the head, police say. Brian Michael Guynes, 19, of Farmers Branch, was visiting San Antonio to help judge a high school debate contest when he was killed late Saturday. At first he was thought to have died as a result of the traffic accident, but police said Sunday that they had discovered a gunshot wound in the left side of his head. Officers said they have not been able to determine if Guynes was shot by someone in a passing car or if he ran into some other foul play, such as an attempted carjacking. Homicide Sgt. Orlando Navarro said the case is being classified as a homicide. No weapon was found. "We are looking into the possibility of robbery as a motive because there was no money in his wallet," a detective said. "He was just a former student trying to help out the teacher and the students." Guynes had accompanied eight participants of R.L. Turner High School's debate team from Carrollton to San Antonio for a debate contest at Churchill High School. The team's debate coach, Gina Wilkinson, said Guynes was a 1992 graduate of the Carrollton school and had been invited to serve as a judge in the debate, which was sponsored by the Texas Forensic Association. Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Tuesday, January 26, 1993 Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams

SHOOT.FOLO Homicide ruled in shooting death of debate judge SHOOT.FOLO Homicide ruled in shooting death of debate judge By Thomas Edwards and Jeff Davis Express-News Staff Writers Homicide has been ruled in the death of a Farmers Branch man found shot to death behind the wheel of his car on the Northwest Side this past weekend, officials said Monday. Bexar County Chief Medical Examiner Vincent DiMaio ruled Monday that Brian Michael Guynes, 19, died from a gunshot wound in the head, a spokesman for the crime lab said. Guynes, who was in town to judge a high school debate at Churchill High School, was found dead in his Ford sedan about 11:30 p.m. Saturday after it crashed into some barricades at Interstate 410 and Cherry Ridge Drive, police said. Detectives said Guynes had been shot in the left temple. The chief medical examiner said an examination of the wound yielded little information about the shooting. "It was not a contact wound; it was not self-inflicted," he said Monday after the autopsy. DiMaio said the shot may have been fired from a distance of "maybe a couple of feet," but he declined to be more specific. No foreign matter an indication of a possible ricochet was found in the wound, and reports indicated the car window was partially open when the shot was fired, DiMaio said. "It was a straight-in shot," he said. No arrests were reported in the case. Guynes, a 1992 graduate of R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton , had followed an eight-member debate team from that school Friday to San Antonio, investigators said. A school official said Guynes, who had excelled as member of the Turner debate team when he was a student there, had been invited to judge the debate competition at Churchill High School. Friends said they last saw him about 10 p.m. Saturday. Police believe he may have been killed as he was returning to his hotel, which is located about a block away from the accident site.   San Antonio Express-News - Tuesday, January 26, 1993 Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams

 

BRIAN MICHAEL GUYNES DEC 9, 1973 - JAN 23, 1993 Hilltop Memorial Park, Carrollton, Dallas County, Texas

Notes:

• In Memoriam - R. L. Turner High School - Class of 1992

• Find-A-Grave #36202225