· Congratulations to ASA William Gonzalez and Career Criminal/Robbery ASA Alexandria Hunter for securing a verdict of guilty on an Aggravated Battery case. The Defendant is a Habitual Violent Felony Offender and faces a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence.
The Defendant and Victim were in a tumultuous relationship for approximately six years. One night, the Defendant got angry when he saw that other men “liked” pictures that the Victim had posted of herself on Instagram. The next morning, the Victim woke up to the Defendant slashing open the left side of her face while stating, “will they still think you’re beautiful?”
The Defendant drove the Victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital where a nurse noticed the strange body language between the couple. The nurse tried to separate them, but the Defendant forced the Victim to leave the hospital. Concerned, the nurse called 911 and requested a welfare check on the Victim. The Defendant was alerted that law enforcement had been contacted when he received a call from police asking what had happened. He then drove the Victim around for some time, switched cars, and dropped the Victim off blocks away from her house before fleeing. The Defendant was arrested several weeks later.
Williams Rule evidence was introduced showing that the Defendant had cut the Victim in a prior incident and tried to render aid. The State used this to prove the nature of the relationship between the Defendant and the Victim. The State further introduced text messages sent by the Defendant showing his state of mind shortly after he cut the Victim.
When the Defendant chose to testify in the case, ASA Gonzalez cross-examined him, successfully debunking the theory that the Victim fell on a piece of glass.
This victory would not have been possible without the help of Victim/Witness Coordinators Joseph Dunne and Kelly Usher-Villazan, and Secretary Nelson Escobar.
· Congratulations to DC Ruben Scolavino and ASA Marie Koth for obtaining a Manslaughter conviction in a trial where the jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes.
The Victim and Defendant were roommates. The State believes they may have had an argument after the Victim asked the Defendant to leave their apartment. In March 2012, the Victim was outside having beers with his friends when he was accosted by the Defendant. According to an eyewitness, this Defendant beat the Victim unconscious using his hands and feet, resulting in the Victim being in a comatose state. Seven years after the incident the Victim finally succumbed to his injuries without ever regaining consciousness.
This case presented multiple difficulties beyond the age of the case from the initial incident, as the Defendant was originally charged with Attempted Murder in 2012. That case went to trial that same year, and after the Judge granted a judgment of acquittal on the Attempted Murder charge, the Defendant ended up pleading guilty to a Misdemeanor Battery and was released after spending less than a year in custody.
In 2019, after the Victim’s death, the case was re-evaluated by homicide detectives and the Medical Examiner’s office. Dr. Emma Lew determined that the Victim died as a result of the Defendant’s actions in March of 2012, and the Defendant was charged with Second Degree Murder. Last month, the Defendant fired his Public Defender and filed a speedy demand. On the eve of trial, the court sua sponte raised the issue of res judicata and challenged the State’s ability to go forward on the Murder charge. Because of the original trial judge’s ruling and specific findings on the JOA in the Attempted Murder case, the State made the strategic decision of amending the charge to Manslaughter. The Court, also on its own motion, precluded two major pieces of evidence in the State’s case: the Defendant’s statement in a documentary featured on YouTube, in which he admitted to beating a man into a coma in March of that year, and the Defendant’s guilty plea to Battery in the original case.
The only eyewitness to the incident was unable to be located. After a pretrial hearing on the State’s efforts to locate the eyewitness, the State was able to read the eyewitness’s prior testimony from the 2012 Attempted Murder trial. The State moved forward, relying almost entirely on the 10-year-old transcript and the testimony of Dr. Lew. Thanks to ASA Koth’s excellent direct of Dr. Lew and the convincing portrayal of the eyewitness by ASA Stephen Daniels, the jury quickly voted to convict the Defendant of Manslaughter. The Defendant will be sentenced later this year and faces 15 years in state prison.
Special thanks go to Division Secretary Nelson Escobar and Victim Witness Counselor Idalma Gurruchaga for tracking down witnesses and going above and beyond the call of duty.
· Congratulations to Career Criminal/Robbery Prosecutors Katharine “K.C.” Moore and Alexandria Hunter on their Guilty verdict in an Armed Robbery with a Weapon and Burglary with an Assault or Battery case. The Defendant will receive at least a minimum mandatory of 30 years as a Prison Releasee Reoffender (PRRP), up to life as a Habitual Violent Offender, with a 15-year minimum mandatory on the first count and a possible sentence of life in prison as a PRRP on the second count.
The Victim was an Uber driver who drove three passengers including the Defendant to multiple locations where he stopped for lengthy periods of time before ending the trip and ordering the Defendant out of his car. The Defendant refused, pointed a firearm at the Victim’s face, and stole the Victim’s cell phone as the Victim attempted to call 911. Although a gun was never found, surveillance video proved the Defendant, and the other passengers had a gun immediately after the robbery. They hid the firearm under a garbage can before recovering it and hiding from police. The Defendant was caught blocks from the robbery when officers were meeting with the Victim who shouted, “that’s him!”, which was captured on Body Worn Camera.
ASA Moore and the Lead Detective reviewed over 32 hours of surveillance video to find the Defendant and his cohorts hiding and then recovering the firearm used in the robbery. Later the defendant gave a confession admitting, “everything the Victim tells you is true, except I did not have a gun; I used the Victim’s cell phone and pretended it was a gun.” After five years waiting for trial, ASAs Moore and Hunter are happy to have obtained justice for the Victim and the community.
Extra special recognition and thanks go to the entire Litigation Support Unit for going above and beyond what is their already exceptional support and work. Prosecutors would like to thank ASA Eileen Keeley from our Legal Division for her assistance on a second JOA argument after trial. Additional thanks to Secretary Chandra Taylor, Victim Witness Counselor Shaun Williams, and Lead Detective Ricardo Hernandez of the MDPD Robbery Unit, for continuing to investigate this case for over five years.
· Congratulations to ASAs Taylor Ribaudo and Blairr Miller for securing a Delinquent Verdict on a juvenile for charges of Concealed Carry of a Firearm, Minor in Possession, and Resisting Without Violence.
Detectives from the MDPD Violent Crimes Unit observed the Respondent with a large bulge in his right pocket. When the Respondent noticed the marked police vehicle, he grabbed the item in his pocket, exposingthe butt of a firearm. When Detectives exited their vehicle, the Respondent immediately took flight but tripped. As the Detectives caught up to the Respondent, he tossed the firearm into the street. Officers never lost sight of the firearm and it was quickly recovered.
The trial came down to whether the firearm was completely concealed when officers first saw the Respondent. The ASAs argued that the testimony showed that the firearm was completely concealed before the Respondent reached for his pocket. In the alternative, they cited caselaw for the proposition that a firearm is considered concealed even if it is only partially exposed.
A special thanks to Juvenile Victim Specialist James Corbett Jr. and Juvenile Supervisor Verena Fernandez whose assistance in this case resulted in the trial victory.
· Congratulations to Misdemeanor DV ASAs Lauren Gutierrez and Belissa Ardisson for securing a guilty verdict on one count of DV Injunction Violation on August 11, 2022. The Victim sought this injunction after she was raped by the Defendant. A Civil Judge ruled in the Victim’s favor and granted the Victim a Final Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence.
On March 12, 2021, the Defendant was served with the Temporary Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence and within two hours, returned to the Victim’s home and broke her window. She called police, and the Defendant was arrested and charged with violating the Domestic Violence Injunction. The State introduced Body Worn Camera footage which showed the Defendant saying, “I know, I am not supposed to be here”.
At trial, the Victim was understandably fragile, especially since she is an immigrant and is self-conscious because of the language barrier. Due to these circumstances, the Victim had difficulty expressing the events of the incident to the jury. Despite this, ASA Ardisson was influential in setting the scene for the jury during opening and first close. ASA Gutierrez was able to guide the jury during rebuttal, using certified transcripts showing that when police first arrived, the Defendant stated that he knew that he wasn’t supposed to be there.
A special thanks to ASAs Janeen Zamora, Daniella Capote, and Natalie Mendez who had previously worked on this case, and to the Division 87 support staff: Cecilia Gomez, Ursula Sanchez, Ana Escalante and Tiny Brandon.
