Moreno-Rivera v. State

Trial counsel was not deficient in failing to investigate the victims' prior violent acts in a malice murder case because the defendant could not give counsel any information from which to conduct an investigation.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Following a jury trial, Julio Moreno-Rivera appeals his conviction for malice murder, among other crimes,1 contending that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that Victor Santos and Erica Hernandez, who grew up in Mexico, were married and, at the time of the incident, had three young children. Victor and Erica were friends with Bruno Moreno-Rivera, Julio’s brother, who had grown up with Victor in Mexico. When Bruno came to the United States, he lived with Victor and Erica for a year before finding a place of his own. Later, Julio came to the United States from Mexico and moved in with Victor and Erica. On the date of the shooting, Victor, Erica, and their three children shared their apartment with Julio and Victor’s father, Eusebio Trejo, who was called “Chevo.” On October 4, 2008, after a series of escalating arguments with Victor and Chevo, Julio pulled out his handgun and began waving it around. Victor tried to take the gun from Julio, but Julio put the weapon under Victor’s face and started shooting. Victor sustained four gunshot wounds, including one to the neck and two to the head. Upon hearing gunshots, Chevo ran out of the apartment. Julio then reloaded his gun and shot Chevo in the arm and the back of his head. Julio left the scene on foot, and he was arrested almost immediately after the shooting. Julio told the arresting officer that, “I did it. I killed them. Take me to jail.” Victor died, while Chevo lived and returned to Mexico after the incident. At trial, Julio testified on his own behalf and argued that he shot in self-defense.

Moreno-Rivera v. State

Trial counsel was not deficient in failing to investigate the victims' prior violent acts in a malice murder case because the defendant could not give counsel any information from which to conduct an investigation.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report