People v. Flores
| Decision Date | 05 August 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 26201,26201 |
| Citation | 189 Colo. 209,539 P.2d 1236 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gonzalo Barrera FLORES, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
John P. Moore, Atty. Gen., John E. Bush, Deputy Atty. Gen., Donna A. Maranchik, Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, Robert C. Lehnert, Asst. Atty. Gen., for plaintiff-appellee.
William L. Lloyd, Pueblo, for defendant-appellant.
Defendant was convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to a term in the penitentiary. Because the trial court committed error in refusing to allow the defense to present evidence that would have supported the defendant's assertion that the killing was in self-defense, the judgment must be reversed.
The defendant, his wife, and another couple attended a dance in Pueblo. The decedent, Jose Reyes, and his wife, were also present at the dance. At one point during the evening, the defendant asked the decedent to discuss a disputed debt. The defendant testified that while outside the building, he was struck in the face by the decedent.
Later in the evening, the defendant and the decedent encountered each other in the rest room. The defendant testified that the decedent attacked him with a knife; that he disarmed the decedent; that the decedent persisted in his aggressive attack; and that during the subsequent struggle, the defendant inflicted the fatal stab wounds in an effort to defend himself. One of the defendant's friends, who was in the rest room, testified that he neither heard nor witnessed the altercation. He simply turned around and discovered that the decedent had been cut.
On two separate occasions during the trial, the defendant tried to introduce evidence of an earlier incident when the decedent committed an act of violence against a third person in the defendant's presence. This evidence was offered in support of the defendant's self-defense theory to establish his fear of the decedent, and his state of mind at the time of the stabbing.
As we view this case, it presents the same issue which was ruled upon in People v. Burress, 183 Colo. 146, 515 P.2d 460 (1973). In that case, we reversed a conviction of assault with a deadly weapon where the defendant was not allowed to present evidence of the prior violent conduct of the person assaulted.
Initially, we must point out that the evidence is not inadmissible as hearsay. The statements and evidence were not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, i.e., that the prior assault by the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Tribble
...in time and are of such a quality as to be capable of contributing to the defendant's fear of the victim. See People v. Flores, 189 Colo. 209, 211, 539 P.2d 1236, 1238 (1975); State v. Lui, Hawaii, 603 P.2d 151, 154 (1979); People v. Miller, 39 N.Y.2d at 552, 384 N.Y.S.2d at 747, 349 N.E.2d......
-
State v. Jacoby, 59756
...v. Griffin, 99 Ariz. 43, 47, 406 P.2d 397, 399 (1965); Sanders v. State, 245 Ark. 321, 324, 432 S.W.2d 467, 469 (1968); People v. Flores, 539 P.2d 1236, 1238 (Colo.1975); Rolle v. State, 314 So.2d 167, 168 (Fla.App.1975); Henderson v. State, 234 Ga. 827, 828, 218 S.E.2d 612, 614-615 (1975);......
-
State v. Miranda
...and other specific acts of violence unknown to the defendant. 1 Sanders v. State, 245 Ark. 321, 324, 432 S.W.2d 467; People v. Flores, 539 P.2d 1236, 1238 (Colo.); State v. Jacoby, supra, 838; Henderson v. State, 234 Ga. 827, 829-30, 218 S.E.2d 612; McDonald v. State, 218 So.2d 21, 22-23 (M......
-
Maggitt v. Wyrick
...States v. Burks, 152 U.S.App.D.C. 284, 470 F.2d 432, 434-35 (1972); State v. Young, 109 Ariz. 221, 508 P.2d 51 (1973); People v. Flores, 539 P.2d 1236 (Colo.1975); Williams v. State, 252 So.2d 243 (Fla.App.1971); State v. Johnson, 270 N.C. 215, 154 S.E.2d 48 (1967); Wood v. State, 486 S.W.2......