Articles Posted in Murder

The Los Angeles Times has posted breaking news in the George Torres case. On Monday, Torres, an entrepreneur who built the multimillion-dollar Numero Uno grocery store chain, was convicted by a jury of racketeering, solicitation of murder, bribery in federal court.

In the trial, he U.S Attorney’s Office argued that Torres hired illegal immigrants at his stores, bribed a Los Angeles City planning commissioner and arranged to have people killed. The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of two former Torres associates–both convicted drug dealers serving lengthy federal prison sentences who were cooperating with authorities in hopes of having the sentences reduced. Despite credibility issues with the prosecution’s star witnesses, jurors ultimately concluded that Torres arranged for the murder of a local gang member who tried to extort protection money. The man, Jose “Shorty” Maldonado was fatally shot as he walked with his girlfriend near Torres’ main market in 1994.

Torres’ legal team plans on asking the Judge for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict—or that despite the verdict, the government had not met its burden of proof. This post-trial hearing is set for June 1. He faces life in prison.

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The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has obtained a grand jury indictment against a 20-year-old woman accused of killing another young woman while driving drunk.

According to reports, in the early morning of February 1st, Brittney Schuetz was driving between 90 and 100 mph on Imperial Highway when she failed to stop at a red light and collided with April Whang’s Acura Integra. According to reports, La Habra police found Schuetz sitting in the driver’s seat showing signs of intoxication, including giving off a strong odor of alcohol, having bloodshot eyes and watery eyes. Schuetz is accused of driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit, while on probation from a 2007 driving-under-the-influence conviction.

Following the February 1st crash, the District Attorney’s Office charged the Santa Ana woman by felony complaint with one count of Murder. Yesterday’s grand jury indictment will allow prosecutors the opportunity to bring the case to trial more quickly by skipping a preliminary hearing. Preliminary hearings are usually after the arraignment, and is a preliminary determination where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to force the defendant to stand trial. Defendant’s are not entitled to a preliminary hearing if the grand jury passes down an indictment.

At the preliminary hearing, the judge makes determination whether the state has a case using the probable cause standard–which is much lower than the state’s burden at trial which is to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Preliminary hearings are important to a defense for many reasons. For one, it gives the defense an opportunity to cross examine the state’s witnesses on the record which could be a great tool to use against them at trial. Second, if probable cause is not found, a judge can release the defendant who is held with no bond.

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The New York Times is reporting that last week an eight-week federal drug trial in Florida was jeopardized when the jurors admitted to the judge that they had been doing independent research throughout the trial on their cell phones. This is a direct violation of the instructions any jury receives–including Orange County juries–and as a result a mistrial was announced.

Use of BlackBerrys and iPhones by jurors gathering and sending out information about cases is an epidemic in courtrooms throughout the country, causing mistrials and frustrating judges and attorneys. For example, last week, a building company asked an Arkansas court to overturn a $12.6 million judgment, claiming that a juror used Twitter to send updates during the trial.

In trial, jurors are not supposed to seek information outside of the courtroom and are instructed to only base their verdict on facts presented to them in trial- and never, under any circumstance seek out additional evidence on their own.

These reports are unsettling as it calls into question a Los Angeles defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial on every case regardless of whether it is a DUI or a murder case. At some point, I could see judges confiscating cell phones while jurors are serving on a panel. However, technology does have a silver lining for trial attorneys. Now more than ever, attorneys can find out more information about potential jurors and their opponent’s witnesses as a result of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

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The Orange County Register reports that during the four-plus years that the Tom and Jackie Hawks murder case was in the Orange County criminal courts, their boat, the “Well Deserved” was preserved as evidence – perhaps the largest single item ever saved in an Orange County criminal case.

In 2004 the Hawks were lured to sea by Skylar Deleon in an elaborate murder scheme to steal the yacht. The District Attorney’s case claimed that somewhere near Catalina, Deleon and accomplice John F. Kennedy subdued Thomas Hawks below deck with the help of a Taser gun while co-conspirator Alonso Machain grabbed Jackie Hawks in the galley and bound, blindfolded, gagged the couple as they were forced to sign sales documents. Then they were tied to a 55-pound anchor and thrown overboard.

Deleon and Kennedy were tried separately and convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and are awaiting possible death sentences later this month. Machain, cooperated with prosecutors and testified against the others in exchange for escaping a potential death sentence. He is expected to plead guilty and is looking at a life term in prison.

With all the trials over, the Well Deserved is no longer needed as evidence and it will soon be released to the Hawks’ sons Ryan and Matt. The long range plan, Ryan Hawks has said, is to sell the yacht — not because of what happened to their parents aboard it, but because they are not at a point in their lives where they can afford or maintain the yacht.

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Jose Anthony Verduzco was found guilty of killing the lover of his longtime girlfriend and plotting out the act beforehand. According to the Orange County Register, the Orange man looked straight ahead as the guilty verdict was read.

The District Attorney’s Office argued to the jury that Verduzco planned, confronted, shot and killed Miguel Angel Jimenez in the driveway outside Verduzco’s home in November, 2005. Conversely, throughout the trial, the defense maintained that Verduzco shot Jimenez in “the heat of passion”– a defense commonly-raised in first degree murder cases. The murder in this case occurred one week after Verduzco discovered that the girlfriend he had for 24 years was having an affair with Jimenez.

The jury apparently thought that a week was too much time for Verduzco to be so caught up in his anger so as not to be able to control his actions–which could warrant a conviction for a lesser charge. Instead the jury found that the killing was intentional and calculated, which justified a first degree murder conviction. Verduzco will be sentenced on April 1 and faces 50 years to life in state prison.

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The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a festive Christmas Eve party took a terrible turn for a Covina family. The Times reports that a man dressed in a Santa suit opened fire at his ex-wife’s Christmas Eve party and then set the house ablaze. Authorities believe that eight people are dead as well as the alleged shooter, who was later found dead of a gunshot wound.

The alleged shooter’s former wife and her parents are believed to be among the dead. Authorities said that the bodies found in the house were so badly burned that dental records would be needed for identification. It was thought to be the worst single killing spree in the county this year. Overall, homicides have remained at relatively low levels compared to previous years.

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Two juvenile Santa Ana gang members were arrested in the murder of a 13-year-old boy who was gunned down Wednesday while crossing the street with a group of friends near Santa Ana High School. H.G Reza and Tony Barboza of the Los Angeles Times report that the suspects are 16 and 18 and affiliated with a local street gang.

Santa Ana has had an increase in gang shootings this year. Allegedly the 13 year-old vicitm, who did not attend the school, was crossing the street with friends when another group of teenagers approached him and demanded to know his gang affiliation. When he did not answer, he was shot multiple times in the upper torso and was ponounced dead a few hours later.

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