Gonzalez v. State, 84841
| Decision Date | 18 September 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 84841,84841 |
| Citation | 700 So.2d 1217 |
| Parties | 22 Fla. L. Weekly S593 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
William M. Norris of the Law Offices of William M. Norris, P.A., Coral Gables, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Randall Sutton, Assistant Attorney General, Miami, for appellee.
This is an appeal from a judgment of guilt and sentence of death upon Ricardo Gonzalez. We have jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution.
The defendant, Ricardo Gonzalez, along with codefendants Pablo San Martin, Leonardo Franqui, Fernando Fernandez, and Pablo Abreu were charged with first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense, grand theft in the third degree, and burglary. 1 Gonzalez, Franqui, and San Martin were tried together before a jury in May, 1994.
The record reflects that the Kislak National Bank in North Miami, Florida, was robbed by four gunmen on January 3, 1992. The perpetrators made their getaway in two stolen grey Chevrolet Caprice cars after taking a cash box from one of the drive-in tellers. During the robbery, police officer Steven Bauer was shot and killed. Shortly after the robbery, the vehicles were found abandoned two blocks west of the bank.
Approximately two weeks later, Gonzalez was stopped by police after leaving his residence on January 18, 1992. He subsequently made unrecorded and recorded confessions in which he told police that Franqui had planned the robbery, involved the other participants and himself in the scheme, and chosen the location and date for the crime. He said that Franqui had procured the two stolen Chevrolets, driven one of the cars, and supplied him with the gun he used during the robbery. He further stated that Franqui was the first shooter and shot at the victim three or four times, while he had shot only once. Gonzalez indicated that he shot low and believed he had only wounded the victim in the leg. He was subsequently reinterviewed by police and, among other things, described how Franqui had shouted at the victim not to move before shooting him. 2
Franqui was also questioned by police on January 18, 1992, in a series of unrecorded and recorded sessions. During his preinterview, Franqui initially denied any involvement in the Kislak Bank robbery, but when confronted with the fact that his accomplices were in custody and had implicated him, he ultimately confessed. Franqui stated that Fernandez had hatched the idea for the robbery after talking to a black male, and he had accompanied the two men to the bank a week before the robbery actually took place. He maintained that the black male friend of Fernandez had suggested the use of the two stolen cars, but denied any involvement in the thefts of the vehicles. According to Franqui, San Martin, Fernandez, and Abreu had stolen the vehicles. Franqui did admit to police that he and Gonzalez were armed during the episode, but stated that it was Gonzalez--and not himself--who yelled at the victim to "freeze" when they saw him pulling out his gun. Franqui denied firing the first shot and maintained that he fired only one shot later.
At trial, over the objection of Gonzalez, the confessions of codefendants San Martin and Franqui were introduced without deletion of their references to Gonzalez, upon the trial court's finding that their confessions "interlocked" with Gonzalez's own confession.
Gonzalez was convicted on all counts, and after a penalty phase trial, the jury recommended death by a vote of seven to five. The trial court followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Gonzalez to death. Gonzalez raises the following issues on appeal: (1) that the trial court erred in denying Gonzalez's peremptory challenges of jurors Diaz and Andani; (2) that the trial court erred in denying Gonzalez's motion for severance based upon the introduction of the confessions of nontestifying codefendants Franqui and San Martin at their joint trial; (3) Gonzalez was denied an impartial hearing at his penalty phase because of the court's refusal to sever his case and to permit him to cross-examine San Martin's experts; and (4) his death sentence is disproportionate.
Speaking for all three defendants, defense counsel sought to exercise a peremptory challenge to excuse prospective jurors Diaz and Andani from the jury. The State objected to the challenges. The court conducted an inquiry pursuant to State v. Neil, 457 So.2d 481 (Fla.1984), and ultimately struck these challenges. We conclude that the court's determination to strike the challenges of prospective jurors Diaz and Andani was not clearly erroneous. The rationale for approving the striking of the challenge of Diaz is set forth in our opinion relating to the appeal of Franqui arising out of the same case. Franqui v. State, 699 So.2d 1332 (Fla.1997).
Gonzalez also asserts that the trial court erred by permitting the confessions of his codefendants Franqui and San Martin to be admitted against him in their joint trial and by denying his motion to sever his trial Thus, the admission of the confessions of Franqui and San Martin was error. However, with respect to guilt, we conclude that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Not only did Gonzalez confess to participating in the robbery, he also admitted shooting the victim. He does not contest the legality of his confession in this appeal. In addition, it was determined that the fatal bullet came from the gun that Gonzalez was carrying. Gonzalez admitted being with Franqui, and an eyewitness identified Franqui as the driver of one of the stolen cars leaving the scene of the crime. Further, Franqui's fingerprints were found on...
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San Martin v. State
...trial court's determination to strike the challenges of prospective jurors Diaz and Andani was not clearly erroneous. Gonzalez v. State, 700 So.2d 1217, 1218 (Fla.1997); Franqui v. State, 699 So.2d 1332, 1335 & n. 6 (Fla.1997). Thus, we find no merit to this Issue 1 and part of issue 2 invo......
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Gonzalez v. State
...This Court affirmed Gonzalez's conviction, but vacated his death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase. Gonzalez v. State, 700 So.2d 1217, 1217-18 (Fla.1997).2 The new penalty phase was held on August 10, 1998. Several witnesses testified for the State, including the tellers who wer......
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Gonzalez v. Sec'y, Fla. Dept. of Corr.
...Gonzalez's convictions on direct appeal, but vacated his death sentence and remanded for a new sentencing hearing. Gonzalez v. State, 700 So.2d 1217 (Fla.1997) (" Gonzalez I"), cert. denied, Gonzalez v. Florida, 523 U.S. 1062, 118 S.Ct. 1393, 140 L.Ed.2d 652 (1998). On remand, the trial cou......
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Fernandez v. State, 84,700
...based on the erroneous admission of the codefendants' statements that implicated each other as the aggressor. Gonzalez v. State, 700 So.2d 1217, 1219 (Fla. 1997), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S.Ct. 1393, 140 L.Ed.2d 652 (1998), and cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S.Ct. 1856, 140 L.Ed.2d ......