Espinosa v. State, 73436

• Decision Date: 11 July 1991
• Docket Number: No. 73436,73436
• Citation: 589 So.2d 887
• Parties: 16 Fla. L. Weekly S753 Henry Jose ESPINOSA, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 887

589 So.2d 887

16 Fla. L. Weekly S753

Henry Jose ESPINOSA, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 73436.

Supreme Court of Florida.

July 11, 1991.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 27, 1991.

Sheryl J. Lowenthal, Sp. Asst. Public Defender, Coral Gables, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Michael J. Neimand, Asst. Atty. Gen., Miami, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Henry Jose Espinosa appeals to this Court to review his conviction and sentence of death for the first-degree murder of Teresa Rodriguez. Espinosa additionally appeals his convictions for the second-degree murder of Bernardo Rodriguez, the attempted murder of Odanis Rodriguez, grand theft, and burglary. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(1), of the Florida Constitution.

Espinosa was tried together with his codefendant, Mauricio Beltran-Lopez. The state introduced evidence showing that the murders were committed in the following manner. At one time Espinosa had been neighbors with Bernardo and Teresa Rodriguez and their daughters, Odenia and Odanis. On the night of the murders, Espinosa and Beltran-Lopez went to the Rodriguezes' home. A violent struggle ensued in the kitchen during which the defendants shot and stabbed Bernardo Rodriguez to death. The defendants then grabbed Teresa Rodriguez and dragged her to the master bedroom where apparently Beltran-Lopez suffocated her with a pillow while Espinosa repeatedly stabbed her. The defendants then went to Odanis's room which was locked. Espinosa lured her out by telling her that her mother wanted her. When Odanis opened the door, Beltran-Lopez grabbed her while Espinosa repeatedly stabbed her. The defendants then left, taking some money with them. Odanis's sister, Odenia, telephoned a family friend who came and took the sisters to the hospital.

At the trial Odanis, who was eleven years old at the time of the murders, testified that during the early morning hours of July 10, 1986, she was in her room and heard her mother's and Espinosa's voices. Odanis recognized Espinosa's voice since he had been her neighbor. The telephone in her room rang and a man, whom she later identified as Beltran-Lopez, came into her room, pulled the telephone cord from the wall, and left. Odanis then opened her door and saw Espinosa holding a knife while Beltran-Lopez held her mother. Her mother signalled her, so she went back into her room and locked the door. She then heard her mother say, "Don't, Henry, don't." Espinosa then came to her door and told her that her mother wanted her. When she opened the door, Beltran-Lopez grabbed her and Espinosa started stabbing her. Later, at the hospital, Odanis identified Espinosa and Beltran-Lopez as the assailants from photographic lineups.

Odenia, who was twelve years old at the time of the murders, testified that she had heard her mother tell Espinosa that if he would leave she would not call the police. She also heard Espinosa call Odanis out of her room. She, too, had recognized Espinosa's voice because he had been their neighbor, and she had picked his picture out of a photographic lineup.

The medical examiner testified that Bernardo had been shot once and stabbed six times. Teresa had been smothered with a pillow, stabbed six times, and strangled while she was alive. The parties stipulated that Odanis was stabbed sixteen times. A fingerprint expert testified that a bloody palm print from the refrigerator was Beltran-Lopez's and a bloody fingerprint was Espinosa's. Beltran-Lopez's bloody prints were also found on a chair cover. A serologist testified that blood consistent with Beltran-Lopez's blood, from a wound to his hand, was found in several areas of the house. The serologist also testified that blood consistent with Teresa and Odanis's blood was found spattered on a pair of shorts in Espinosa's car. A Ms. Lanza, with whom Beltran-Lopez had been staying, testified that Beltran-Lopez and Espinosa brought a pack of money to her house after the murders and asked her to keep it for them, telling her it was a loan. Specks of blood were found on the money.

Espinosa, himself, testified at the trial that Bernardo had hired him to drive trucks. On the night of the murders, Espinosa and Beltran-Lopez went to the Rodriguezes' house to pick up the trucks. Bernardo then asked them to haul marijuana, but Espinosa refused. Bernardo then threatened Espinosa, and Teresa came out into the kitchen and pointed a gun at Espinosa. Beltran-Lopez then grabbed the gun and Bernardo grabbed a knife. Beltran-Lopez then shot Bernardo and the two of them began struggling violently. Beltran-Lopez kicked and stabbed Bernardo to death. Espinosa testified that Beltran-Lopez next killed Teresa and then attempted to kill Odanis. Espinosa further claimed to have taken almost no active part in the killing with the exception of stabbing Odanis once with the intention of making Beltran-Lopez think Odanis was dead so that he would leave her alone.

Espinosa also presented evidence at the trial that Bernardo Rodriguez was involved in drug trafficking. A police officer testified that a car parked in the Rodriguezes' driveway was registered to a Maria Castellanos. When the police went to her house in the course of the murder investigation, they seized over a thousand pounds of marijuana and some marijuana-trafficking equipment. They also found a dump truck at Castellanos's house similar to one parked at the Rodriguezes' house. Further, a beeper found on a man who attempted to flee Castellanos's house bore the same telephone number as a beeper found in the Rodriguezes' kitchen. A fingerprint expert testified that Bernardo Rodriguez's fingerprints were found on a cigarette pack in the car and on a candleholder in Castellanos's house.

Beltran-Lopez did not testify during the guilt phase of the trial. The jury ultimately found both defendants guilty.

During the penalty phase of the trial, Espinosa presented several character witnesses who testified that he was a good person. Espinosa also made a statement on his own behalf. Beltran-Lopez also testified, stating that after he was arrested he had given a statement to the police concerning his involvement in the murders. He largely blamed the murders on Espinosa, admitting to only minimal participation. He did admit that he had stolen money from the house. Beltran-Lopez's mother testified that he was a good son.

The jury recommended the death penalty for Espinosa by an eleven-to-one vote. ¹ The judge then sentenced Espinosa to death, finding in aggravation that (1) he previously had been convicted of a violent felony; (2) the murder was committed to prevent lawful arrest; (3) the murder was committed during armed burglary; and (4) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. ² The judge found statutory mitigation of no significant criminal history and nonstatutory mitigation that Espinosa was a good man. Espinosa was additionally sentenced to life with a statutory three-year minimum for the second-degree murder, life for the attempted murder, five years for grand theft, and life with a three-year minimum for the armed burglary.

Espinosa's first claim in this appeal is that the trial court should have granted Espinosa's motion to have his trial severed from that of Beltran-Lopez. He claims that their defenses were sufficiently antagonistic so that the trial court should have granted severance under rule 3.152 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.

As this Court has previously stated:

Rule 3.152(b)(1) directs the trial court to order severance whenever necessary "to promote a fair determination of the guilt or innocence of one or more defendants...." As we stated in Menendez v. State, 368 So.2d 1278 (Fla.1979), and in Crum v. State, 398 So.2d 810 (Fla.1981), this rule is consistent with the American Bar Association standards relating to joinder and severance in criminal trials. The object of the rule is not to provide defendants with an absolute right, upon request, to separate trials when they blame each other for the crime. Rather, the rule is designed to assure a fair determination of each defendant's guilt or innocence. This fair determination may be achieved when all the relevant evidence regarding the criminal offense is presented in such a manner that the jury can distinguish the evidence relating to each defendant's acts, conduct, and statements, and can then apply the law intelligently and without confusion to determine the individual defendant's guilt or innocence. The rule allows the trial court, in its discretion, to grant severance when the jury could be confused or improperly influenced by evidence which applies to only one of several defendants. A type of evidence that can cause confusion is the confession of a defendant which, by implication, affects a codefendant, but which the jury is supposed to consider only as to the confessing defendant and not as to the others. A severance is always required in this circumstance. Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968).

In situations less obviously prejudicial than the Bruton circumstance, the question of whether severance should be granted must necessarily be answered on a case by case basis. Some general rules have, however, been established. Specifically, the fact that the defendant might have a better chance of acquittal or a strategic advantage if tried separately does not establish the right to a severance. United States v. Cravero, 545 F.2d 406 (5th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 983, 97 S.Ct. 1679, 52 L.Ed.2d 377 (1977); United States v. Perez, 489 F.2d 51 (5th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 945, 94 S.Ct. 3067, 41 L.Ed.2d 664 (1974). Nor is hostility among defendants, or an attempt by one defendant to escape punishment by throwing the blame on a codefendant, a sufficient reason, by itself, to require severance. United States v. Herring, 602 F.2d 1220 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1046, 100...