Print
Comment
Rate
Motion filed to halt testimony
Ted Moriss
Wick Communications
Attorneys for U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett, who is accused of murdering an illegal immigrant, are asking the court to prevent three witnesses from testifying in his Feb. 26 trial.
Corbett's attorneys claim the witnesses are tainted, having fallen under unscrupulous influence from the Mexican government within hours of the Jan. 12 shooting east of Naco, which is along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Their testimony was irrevocably contaminated by statements by the Mexican official, who informed them that the President of Mexico wanted Agent Corbett punished ..." attorney Sean Chapman writes in a memorandum supporting his "motion to preclude unreliable witness testimony," which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tucson.
"The conduct of the Mexican government in dealing with these crucial witnesses was outrageous," Chapman says in his motion's conclusion.
"This court should hold a hearing at which the factors enumerated (in the memo) will be fleshed out," Chapman writes in his memo.
The slain man, 22-year-old Francisco Dominguez, had been accompanied from Mexico by three other illegal immigrants - his two brothers, Rene and Jorge Dominguez, and his sister-in-law, Sandra Guzman.
The three survivors were taken to the Border Patrol's Naco Station, where they were interviewed by the Cochise County Sheriff's Office and the Mexican Consul.
The sheriff also sought, but never got, an interview with Corbett. The U.S. Constitution affords him the right to remain silent.
Corbett reportedly told his supervisors that he shot Francisco because the man was threatening him with a rock. The three witnesses deny this and corroborate other evidence that indicates Corbett fired his shot from less than a foot away from the victim and while he stood behind the victim, according to the prosecution.
What happened at the Naco Station after the shooting is in dispute.
"Not following usual law enforcement protocol, law enforcement allowed those witnesses to remain together for several hours prior to the interviews," the motion states. "Additionally, at least one of these witnesses was interviewed by the Mexican consul before law enforcement had the opportunity to speak to them - in direct contravention of standard law enforcement practices."
Sheriff's Office Detective Wendy Adney rejected the latter claim in an Aug. 6 preliminary hearing in Justice Court 1 in Bisbee. She testified in that hearing that she was the first one to interview the witnesses and is certain she interviewed them before the Mexican consul arrived.
Corbett's attorneys support their claim based on a Jan. 20 memo written by Border Patrol Agent Oscar E. Jasso, whose memo includes such observations as: "As the investigators were interviewing the witnesses one at a time, the consular officers were allowed to approach and interview whomever they wanted without any oversight."
The memo by Corbett's fellow agent concluded: "In my opinion, because the Mexican Consular Officers were allowed unchecked access to the witnesses and were allowed to interview the witnesses prior to CIT and CCSO, the integrity of the investigation was compromised."
Chapman's memo says the witnesses were "rewarded ... for agreeing to become prosecution witnesses by seeing to it that they are not prosecuted, and allowing them to remain in the U.S. legally during the pendancy of this matter."
The attorney also claims the trio were not only coached what to say by the Mexican government, but also were motivated by a suggestion they might get money from a lawsuit to be filed later against the U.S. government and Corbett.
According to one excerpt from statements made to the three witnesses by Oscar de la Torre, the Mexican consul in Douglas, he told Rene Dominguez: "The government of Mexico is very worried about your brother's case. The president of the republic made a demand to President Bush about the death of your brother. Yes? And we are, we have instructions to legally represent you all so that, um, the death of your brother doesn't remain as just another death. And so we need that you help us and that you cooperate with us and that you give us all the information to us, and that this same information, that you all are giving us, you also tell it to all the authorities who come here to ask you, and like I told you, not to change your versions."
Even if Corbett's attorneys succeed in suppressing the witnesses, they face another challenge of dealing with forensic and ballistic evidence pieced together by the Sheriff's Office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the FBI - evidence that became the tipping point leading to the County Attorney's Office filing murder charges on April 23.
Chapman filed a similar motion on July 25 in Cochise County Justice Court 1. On July 31, Judge David Morales denied Chapman's motion.
After continued legal wrangling in the Cochise County Superior Court system, the case was removed from state to federal jurisdiction on Sept. 24, with no objections by the County Attorney's Office.
(Ted Morris is city editor at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
Wick Communications
Attorneys for U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett, who is accused of murdering an illegal immigrant, are asking the court to prevent three witnesses from testifying in his Feb. 26 trial.
Corbett's attorneys claim the witnesses are tainted, having fallen under unscrupulous influence from the Mexican government within hours of the Jan. 12 shooting east of Naco, which is along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Their testimony was irrevocably contaminated by statements by the Mexican official, who informed them that the President of Mexico wanted Agent Corbett punished ..." attorney Sean Chapman writes in a memorandum supporting his "motion to preclude unreliable witness testimony," which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tucson.
"The conduct of the Mexican government in dealing with these crucial witnesses was outrageous," Chapman says in his motion's conclusion.
"This court should hold a hearing at which the factors enumerated (in the memo) will be fleshed out," Chapman writes in his memo.
The slain man, 22-year-old Francisco Dominguez, had been accompanied from Mexico by three other illegal immigrants - his two brothers, Rene and Jorge Dominguez, and his sister-in-law, Sandra Guzman.
The three survivors were taken to the Border Patrol's Naco Station, where they were interviewed by the Cochise County Sheriff's Office and the Mexican Consul.
The sheriff also sought, but never got, an interview with Corbett. The U.S. Constitution affords him the right to remain silent.
Corbett reportedly told his supervisors that he shot Francisco because the man was threatening him with a rock. The three witnesses deny this and corroborate other evidence that indicates Corbett fired his shot from less than a foot away from the victim and while he stood behind the victim, according to the prosecution.
What happened at the Naco Station after the shooting is in dispute.
"Not following usual law enforcement protocol, law enforcement allowed those witnesses to remain together for several hours prior to the interviews," the motion states. "Additionally, at least one of these witnesses was interviewed by the Mexican consul before law enforcement had the opportunity to speak to them - in direct contravention of standard law enforcement practices."
Sheriff's Office Detective Wendy Adney rejected the latter claim in an Aug. 6 preliminary hearing in Justice Court 1 in Bisbee. She testified in that hearing that she was the first one to interview the witnesses and is certain she interviewed them before the Mexican consul arrived.
Corbett's attorneys support their claim based on a Jan. 20 memo written by Border Patrol Agent Oscar E. Jasso, whose memo includes such observations as: "As the investigators were interviewing the witnesses one at a time, the consular officers were allowed to approach and interview whomever they wanted without any oversight."
The memo by Corbett's fellow agent concluded: "In my opinion, because the Mexican Consular Officers were allowed unchecked access to the witnesses and were allowed to interview the witnesses prior to CIT and CCSO, the integrity of the investigation was compromised."
Chapman's memo says the witnesses were "rewarded ... for agreeing to become prosecution witnesses by seeing to it that they are not prosecuted, and allowing them to remain in the U.S. legally during the pendancy of this matter."
The attorney also claims the trio were not only coached what to say by the Mexican government, but also were motivated by a suggestion they might get money from a lawsuit to be filed later against the U.S. government and Corbett.
According to one excerpt from statements made to the three witnesses by Oscar de la Torre, the Mexican consul in Douglas, he told Rene Dominguez: "The government of Mexico is very worried about your brother's case. The president of the republic made a demand to President Bush about the death of your brother. Yes? And we are, we have instructions to legally represent you all so that, um, the death of your brother doesn't remain as just another death. And so we need that you help us and that you cooperate with us and that you give us all the information to us, and that this same information, that you all are giving us, you also tell it to all the authorities who come here to ask you, and like I told you, not to change your versions."
Even if Corbett's attorneys succeed in suppressing the witnesses, they face another challenge of dealing with forensic and ballistic evidence pieced together by the Sheriff's Office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the FBI - evidence that became the tipping point leading to the County Attorney's Office filing murder charges on April 23.
Chapman filed a similar motion on July 25 in Cochise County Justice Court 1. On July 31, Judge David Morales denied Chapman's motion.
After continued legal wrangling in the Cochise County Superior Court system, the case was removed from state to federal jurisdiction on Sept. 24, with no objections by the County Attorney's Office.
(Ted Morris is city editor at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
 |
 |
|
| Supes nix request | Dragoon gunsmithing shop, range on agenda |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
