United States v. Garcia-Ortiz

Facts

During an afternoon the security guard, Rafael Rivera-Aguayo and manager, Edgardo Figueroa-Rosa were walking to a car to deliver $63,000.00 in cash to the bank from sales. Mr. Rivera noticed a Dodge Intrepid that was suspicious based on the way it was parked. Mr. Rivera walked Mr. Figueroa to his door and walked around the car to the driver’s seat when two people ran towards the car. Mr. Figueroa heard a gun shot and got down on the ground while Mr. Rivera returned fire killing one of the assailants. The remaining assailant neither ever saw but he took the back of money from Mr. Figueroa and ran away.

The police recovered a .357 Magnum revolver at the scene of the crime and later found the Intrepid which bullet holes in the windows and blood on the seats. According to forensics a total of three guns were shot during the robbery. During their investigation, federal law enforcement saw that defendant had been photographs with the dead assailant at a mechanic shop that was being surveilled for a string of armed robberies. Defendant was brought in for blood, hair, saliva, and finger print samples. A consensual body search also found a bullet wound. Defendant’s DNA matched the DNA found in the Intrepid. Defendant was then charged with robbery and first degree murder.

The court gave a jury instruction that the government only needs to prove that the killing resulted form the commission of an enumerated felony, which included robbery, to establish malice aforethought. Therefore, it did not need to be proven or true that the defendant personally killed the victim, but that the victim died as a result of the felony the defendant was committing. Under this instruction the jury convicted the defendant.