State v. Texieira
| Decision Date | 03 April 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 2006-267-C.A.,2006-267-C.A. |
| Citation | 944 A.2d 132 |
| Parties | STATE v. Manuel TEXIEIRA. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
Lauren Zurier, Esq., Providence, for Petitioner.
John A. MacFadyen, III, Providence, for Respondent.
Present: WILLIAMS, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, SUTTELL, and ROBINSON, JJ.
On February 16, 2006, a jury found the defendant, Manuel Texieira,1 guilty of the first-degree murder of one Edgar Ortega. On June 20 of that year, he was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment.
The defendant has appealed to this Court, contending: (1) that the trial justice erred in refusing to arrest the judgment of first-degree murder; (2) that the trial justice erred in denying defendant's motions for a judgment of acquittal; (3) that the trial justice erred in denying defendant's motion for a new trial; and (4) that the trial justice erred in denying defendant's motion to correct an illegal sentence.
For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.
In the early morning of August 31, 2003, a fight between two strangers began outside of a Providence nightclub. Several bystanders joined in, and the fight ended tragically — with Edgar Ortega being beaten and kicked to death in the course of the melee.
The events that led to this tragic death began on August 30, 2003, when Mr. Ortega and three of his friends, Rigoberto Gomez, Victor Alonzo, and Jonathan Peguero, decided to spend the evening at "The Keg Room," a Providence nightclub. The impetus for the fight occurred after they arrived at that nightclub3 when a club patron, later identified as Jonas Chattelle, walked by and bumped Mr. Ortega from behind while he was dancing with a female friend. The two men stared at each other ominously, but apparently did not confront each other at that time.
Later in the evening, at approximately 2:00 a.m., as the club was closing, Mr. Ortega began to argue with Mr. Chattelle, saying, As they continued to verbally quarrel, some bouncers came over to the two men and attempted to separate them. Mr. Ortega struggled with the bouncers; the bouncers then physically ushered Mr. Ortega out of the nightclub. The bouncers also directed several other patrons out of the club through its back entrance.
Mr. Ortega met up with his friends outside of the club and warned them that they should "watch out because there might be [a fight]." Immediately after making that statement, Mr. Ortega saw Mr. Chattelle and they began to fight on the sidewalk in front of the club's entrance. One of Mr. Ortega's friends, Victor Alonzo, attempted to break up the fight, but Mr. Ortega refused to withdraw.
As the two men continued their physical confrontation, a sizeable crowd began to surround them. As the crowd grew in size and intensity, Mr. Gomez and Mr. Alonzo attempted to fend off the crowd; but, recognizing that it was an unfair fight (Mr. Ortega was a large man who stood over six feet tall and weighed over three hundred pounds, whereas Mr. Chattelle weighed only about 180 pounds), the crowd became rowdier, yelling at the two men. Mr. Gomez heard defendant, a friend of Mr. Chattelle's, say: Kevin Powell, a bystander, heard Alberto Heredia further instigating the fight, proclaiming his allegiance to Mr. Chattelle over and over again.
Eventually, the fight between Mr. Chattelle and Mr. Ortega evolved into a melee involving friends of both men. At some point, Mr. Ortega was brought down to the ground, at which time Mr. Heredia proceeded to hit and kick him in the abdominal area. Mr. Ortega attempted to get up and was on all fours; at that point, in the descriptive words of Mr. Powell, defendant "kicked Ortega in the face * * * [h]ard, like he was trying to kick [a football] thirty yards * * *." Mr. Powell, who did not know defendant or any of the other participants, then grabbed defendant from behind to calm him down and prevent him from becoming further involved in the fighting.
At that time, Mr. Ortega was struck in the head by a bottle, possibly thrown by Mr. Heredia. After being struck by the bottle, Mr. Ortega attempted to stand up, but he was "confused" and was moving like a "punch drunk boxer" and was "walking wobbly." It appears that at this point the police arrived and began to take action to disperse the crowd.
It is here that the several accounts of the events that transpired on the night of August 31, 2003 begin to diverge. According to Mr. Alonzo, he and Mr. Ortega attempted to flee the scene; however, they were spotted by Mr. Chattelle and several others, including defendant, and the fighting resumed. Mr. Alonzo testified that defendant attacked him and that he and defendant were "struggling" when he felt someone hit the back of his head. Mr. Alonzo then saw defendant run toward his friends, who were in a circle "kicking" Mr. Ortega. Mr. Alonzo testified that he saw defendant enter the circle, but that he could not see what, if anything, Mr. Texieira was doing.
Another friend of Mr. Ortega's, Rigoberto Gomez, testified that, during the second phase of the fight, he saw defendant, among others, kicking and stomping on Mr. Ortega. According to Mr. Gomez, he witnessed defendant kick Mr. Ortega in the head "about three times."
Dylan Andrews,4 a bystander who had been at the club and who did not know Mr. Ortega or any of the other individuals involved in the fight, testified that, as he was standing on the street conversing with a friend, he saw a tall white man (later suggested to be one Eric Landry) come over and say, with respect to Mr. Ortega, "[t]his is him." Mr. Landry then proceeded to punch Mr. Ortega in the head.
Mr. Andrews testified that he then saw Mr. Chattelle run from the middle of the street toward Mr. Ortega, swing at him, and then drive his shoulder into Mr. Ortega's head. Then, as Mr. Ortega was trying to grab Mr. Chattelle, he stepped off the curb, lost his balance and fell to his knees. At that point, Mr. Landry "went to go kick him and * * * grazed him." Mr. Heredia also "barely kicked him as well, nearly kicking his shoulder." Mr. Andrews then testified that he saw Mr. Texieira run approximately three to four steps and then kick Mr. Ortega in the face. Mr. Andrews stated that the noise was jarring and sounded "like [Mr. Ortega's] face broke." At that point, Mr. Ortega's head went back, his hands came off the ground, and he collapsed on the ground without further movement.
The police found Mr. Ortega unconscious, and medical aid was summoned. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Doctor Dorota Latuszynski, the Acting Chief Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy on Mr. Ortega, testified that Mr. Ortega suffered multiple blunt force traumas to the head and body. She identified a contusion and abrasions above the right eye and a further abrasion on the cheekbone. She also testified that Mr. Ortega had a black eye, hemorrhaging of the eye, and a laceration to the tissue that connects the lips with the gums. Mr. Ortega had additional contusions on his left shoulder and back, on his right hand and right elbow, as well as abrasions on his wrist, armpit, and knees. Doctor Latuszynski listed the cause of death as cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) and subarachnoid hemorrhage of the brain due to blunt force trauma.
Doctor Latuszynski testified that the external and internal injuries to Mr. Ortega's head which she observed were consistent with a blunt force trauma that could have been caused by punching and kicking. Although she was certain that Mr. Ortega's death was caused by the cerebral edema and subarachnoid hemorrhage, she could not tell whether the damage to Mr. Ortega's head was inflicted by one strong blow or was the cumulative effect of many blows; she also could not state decisively which blow in particular, if any, was the lethal blow to the head.
On February 6, 2004, defendant, along with Alberto Heredia, Eric Landry, and Jonas Chattelle, was indicted for the murder of Mr. Ortega in violation of G.L. 1956 § 11-23-1.5
The defendant's jury trial commenced on February 8, 2006, and it continued for seven trial days. At the close of the prosecution's case, defense counsel moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing that the evidence did not support a charge of first-degree murder. The trial justice found that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of first-degree murder, and she denied the motion. Defense counsel renewed his motion for a judgment of acquittal at the close of defendant's case; the trial justice again denied the motion, ruling, as she had previously ruled, that the evidence was sufficient to support a finding of first-degree murder.
On February 15, 2006, the trial justice gave her instructions to the jury. In the course of those instructions, the trial justice, without any objection by defendant, instructed the jury to determine whether or not defendant was guilty of the first-degree murder of Mr. Ortega based upon one or more of three theories of liability. Those theories were: (1) guilt as a principal; (2) vicarious liability as a co-conspirator; and (3) guilt as an aider and abettor.6 On February 16, 2006, the jury found defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.
On February 24, 2006, defendant filed: (1) a motion for a new trial pursuant to Rule 33 of the Rhode Island Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure and (2) a motion in arrest of judgment pursuant to Rule 34 of the Rhode Island Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure. Both motions questioned inter alia the sufficiency of the evidence with respect to the first-degree murder conviction. After a hearing on April 11, 2006, the trial justice denied both...
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