But Paul insists the prosecutor's rebuttal constituted error, even if we assume it was not intentional. Thus, the court disagreed with Paul's threshold argument at trial that the prosecutor's rebuttal was improper because it exceeded the scope of the defense closing argument. His trial lawyer provided excellent representation and advocacy. He claimed Roberto was a good person but admitted he became upset when he saw Roberto drinking and driving on the farm. Three days later, they received another letter containing a diagram of the device. The settlement awarded the family $20 million as well as $44,800 in workers compensation payment. At trial he explained he had difficulty understanding the documents he was asked to review, but that he could understand an oral description of their contents. "It was owned by Moore farms, but was only driven by Roberto," Gingery said. We agree. On appeal, Paul challenges the court's denial of her request. It is speculative, according to Paul, to assume that wiretapping a telephone is any more complicated than purchasing a Radio Shack or Spy Store device complete with user instructions for dummies [or] a DIY device.. Paul formulates two attacks arising from the prosecutor's final argument in rebuttal. Paul Moore was found guilty on Friday of first-degree murder of Moore Bros. farm foreman Roberto Ayala in Colusa County after the jury deliberated for about five hours. We are not at liberty to reweigh evidence or revisit credibility issues. Chance of rain 100%. SACRAMENTO Paul Moore was found guilty on Friday of the Colusa County murder of Moore Bros. farm foreman Roberto Ayala after about five hours of deliberations. Code, 1101, subd. He thought he was safe in the States. pic.twitter.com/Fu6Kov30EN, Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) July 23, 2020. To the contrary, the prosecutor did nothing more than marshal validly admitted evidence to counter defense argument: that is, the prosecutor referred to wiretapping evidence to demonstrate that Paul had superior technical skills to Peter and to his My Life entries to demonstrate he had a motive to kill Roberto, based on a lifetime of indignities and slights he felt on the farm. He needs to be careful. Lab results will be military-grade powder, black spray-painted epoxy, no DNA. ), Admission of character evidence, however, is subject to special rules. Defendant insists there is no substantial evidence that he murdered Roberto Ayala, and the weak circumstantial evidence of his guilt is insufficient to sustain the verdict in the context of the more compelling evidence that his cousin Peter was the perpetrator. Ultimately, the Ayala family was awarded $20 million. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. We accept for purposes of this issue the trial court's characterization of the defense closing argument. During the trial, Roger Moore testified he planned to share his half of the farm with his son, but that Paul Moore would have to work his way up in an effort to build respect from the employees, a situation that Druliner said Paul Moore resented. Poyner said that after the verdict was announced, he called Peter Moore. 107 5th St, Colusa, CA. Click to reveal Another expert will do this job. They found threaded pipe nipple, end caps in the form of reducers and plugs, other end caps, washers, nuts, multicolored wire, and seven-inch bolts. A document examiner from the United States Secret Service compared the ink from the documents sent to the sheriff's department with the ink on documents from the printer confiscated at Paul's house. Furthermore, the trial brought to light that Rogers enterprise had several vehicles and machinery, which employees like Roberto were allowed to take for personal use. Someone will take it. McNary-Moore Funeral Service in Colusa, CA. One of the investigators described the diagram of the bomb as follows: It's a diagram that has writing around the diagram and on the diagram. First, he complains the prosecutors sandbagged him by engaging one prosecutor, who played a more minor role at trial, to make a perfunctory opening argument, saving its genuine substantive attack by the prosecutor who conducted the bulk of the examination. Roger is Pauls father. Their hopes had not materialized. Paul told the investigators that Peter had been around the explosion site one day before the explosion. He told investigators he had operated the panel five days before the explosion, and he drew an accurate picture of the panel. Roberto's death occurred against the backdrop of great family disharmony and dissension between the two principals in this deadly drama, Peter and Paul, cousins whose fathers were the sons of Richard and Mimi Moore, owners of an 1,800-acre farm near Colusa. Instead, he agreed that the saying, Don't let your bulldog mouth let your mockingbird ass get in trouble applied to Peter. On that same day, Paul cast aspersions on Peter. Paul insists the limiting instruction could not cure the prejudice. However, we have been able to discern that he is currently at Colusa, and is a pillar of the community. Roger Moore was believed to be worth 80 million when he died in May 2017 The 007 actor had 30m in property including a luxury Monaco apartment His fourth wife Kristina, 77, was placed into . He dropped his clippings from his landscape business 40 yards from the pump. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. The two felt Roberto received more respect than them. Moore was cuffed and booked at the Colusa County Jail at the age of 47. Clearly, they both had hoped to assume managerial positions on the farm. We simply cannot say the evidence that Paul possessed the unique skill set to build a bomb, that he had the requisite familiarity with Roberto's schedule and with the irrigation pump where the bomb was planted, of his fingerprints on the indented sheet that matched the bomb diagram and the remainder of the forensic evidence connecting his printer and his labels with the letter and diagram sent by the bomber to the sheriff, and of his suspicious behavior in framing his cousin and in manufacturing and planting the spikes in the road and chasing the investigators at high speeds, and his personal account of the lifetime of disappointment he felt in the way he had been treated relative to the way his father and uncle doted on Roberto, does not constitute solid evidence of credible and reasonable value to sustain the verdict. Clearly, over the years he earned the trust and respect of Roger and Gus. But 12 jurors of Pauls peers found that the circumstantial evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered Roberto Ayala, and we must respect their verdict., The appeals court also said that Paul complained bitterly about his life growing up on the farm and felt mistreated by everyone., The Sun Herald article states that the appeals court said the murder case was a classic whodunit. Gingery said the $20 million judgment cannot be discharged in Bankruptcy Court and can be periodically renewed. There is indeed sufficient evidence to support a reasonable inference that Paul had nursed a lifetime animosity toward nonfamily members his father appeared to favor. The wiretapping occurred in 1995 or 1996. He acknowledges, as he must, that our task is to review the whole record in the light most favorable to the jury verdict to determine whether it discloses substantial evidenceevidence that is reasonable, credible, and of solid valuesuch that a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The investigators took possession of three computers and three cellular telephones. He argues that the trial court's error violated his right to a fair trial and due process of law under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Because the My Life document was highly probative, it is not surprising or improper that the prosecutor quoted it in the opening of his rebuttal argument. Though there was no DNA evidence or fingerprints on the explosive device, the jury found Paul Moore guilty. They want the brother, but it is now driven by some young guy, or do they want the young guy? Whether wiretapping is relatively simple or exceedingly complex, it takes a certain degree of knowledge to tap into someone's phone line. Paul injured his back and had to give up construction. (b).) But the determinative question is whether the trial court abused its discretion by finding the risk of prejudice did not substantially outweigh whatever probative value the evidence had. Dateline on NBC sheds light on the horrific murder of Roberto Ayala. Paul Moore was arrested five months after the explosion after a search warrant was executed at his home by the Colusa County Sherrif's Office assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,. And, of course, he was ostracized from the farm and estranged from his father. To be sure, Paul had demonstrated an advanced mechanical aptitude and an understanding of electrical currents. That evidence, Paul argued, pointed to Peter's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. (People v. Olguin (1994) 31 Cal.App.4th 1355, 1373.) Peter was more vocal, but Paul built the bomb that killed him. Upon detonation gas atomized for millisecond, completed the circuit triggering flashover, thus electrocution, fail safe and no disarming. (People v. Kipp (1998) 18 Cal.4th 349, 369. Paul was afforded a fair trial. Peter loved to shoot ducks. In the second message, Peter said he had worked for 21 years so he could have a chance to farm; that he wanted his grandfather's farm to stay in the family, but his father had disinherited him; that he and Roger were now screwed and he was not going to get a chance to farm; that he had never had a father except biologically; that his father was a douchebag and had never given him a penny; that Roger could not see the Ayala boys over there ripping [him] off blind; and that Roberto had his kid driving the harvester. Marysville woman celebrates 100th birthday, Livestock auction returns to Colusa fairgrounds. The bolts were just like the bolt discovered at the scene of the explosion. BLEASE, J. The police officers confiscated a laptop computer, a combined printer-copier, a partial roll of stamps similar to those used on the second letter sent to the sheriff, an unopened label maker, file folders that had been marked with labels created with a label maker, and manila envelopes similar to the one used for the first letter. A jury convicted defendant Paul Roger Moore of first degree murder based exclusively on circumstantial evidence that he built and planted a victim-activated bomb in an irrigation pump he knew the farm foreman and eventual victim, Roberto Ayala, would activate. The writing is comprised in a similar fashion as the letters themselves. According to Paul, something had been placed at the pump to cause the explosion. On August 15 the investigators received a second letter and a diagram of a bomb. Given the brevity of the comment, we believe Paul grossly overstates its potential danger and conclude there was no prosecutorial error. But apparently they had little difficulty reaching their verdict. We conclude the risk was very low. The evidence demonstrates that Paul had, on at least one occasion, experimented with explosive substances. Nor was there a terrible danger of unnecessarily inciting the jurors' passions. Paul concedes that the standard of review is an abuse of discretion, but he cautions us not to rely on the colorful descriptions and derisive boilerplates the Attorney General uses to describe abuse of discretion, including such catchphrases as a court abuses its discretion when the ruling is arbitrary, capricious, or patently absurd, resulting in a manifest miscarriage of justice. Rather, he insists the ultimate question is whether the court's ruling was unreasonable in light of the governing law and the facts presented. All of these considerations could factor into the trial court's delicate weighing process. Paul Moore was convicted of killing Roberto Ayala, an employee of Moore Brothers. On December 6 of 2011, agents searched Paul Moores home and found evidence linking him to the crime. The forensic evidence, including the indented sheet of paper with Paul's fingerprints on it, the ink and paper from his printer matching the ink and paper mailed to the sheriff, the matching fishing lines, and the presence in the farm shop of many of the materials needed to make the bomb, constitutes substantial evidence to support the inference the jury made that it was Paul who wrote the letters to the sheriff, and it was therefore Paul who planted the bomb that blew up Roberto Ayala, just as he had planned. While Peter and Paul have very different dispositions, they share similar grievances and similar life trajectories. Moore Brothers * Grimes, CA 95950: $1,366,301: 86: J & S Farms * Colusa, CA 95932: $1,338,492: 87: . Expert in Vietnam devices. The potential prejudice of admitting the evidence was slight. Nevertheless, on the narrow legal questions presented, we find substantial evidence to support the verdict and no abuse of discretion in admitting evidence or denying the defense request for surrebuttal closing argument, and therefore affirm the judgment. Paul was well represented at trial, and his lawyer effectively lodged these arguments, and many more, to the jurors. Half of the amount will go to. PAUL ROGER MOORE, Defendant and Appellant. Peter was intimately familiar with the field where Roberto was blown up. Little Fabian ran through the sunflower fields, as far as he could, to get help for his father More Friday at 9/8c with @Dateline_Keith. The trial court cannot be said to have abused its discretion by admitting highly relevant evidence when the only prejudice is the fact the story Paul himself told was a damaging one. He thought the police were there to search for medical marijuana he was growing. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. July 18: Two days after Roberto Ayala's death, Paul delivered to investigators a piece of metal he found in a canal near the explosion. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. The prosecution argued that Paul was attempting to taunt the police. Although the trial was lengthy, they took less than a day to deliberate. Considered in context, there is no danger the jurors were misled or that the document examiner's expert testimony was falsely elevated to the stature of DNA evidence. His son, Fabian, who was 7 at the time, witnessed the explosion and ran two miles through fields to find help. At the same time, their sons, Peter and Paul, respectively, hated Ayala. Gene attended Colusa High School and . The investigators placed a GPS (global positioning system) device on his truck, devices that often malfunction. Most damning, they found a sheet of paper with indentations that appeared to match the diagram of the bomb sent to the sheriff. Periods of rain. I would decline anyway because I saw target two with his girls and that I can't deal with. The family of a Colusa County man killed in a 2011 bombing obtained a $20 million judgment against his killer, an attorney said last Wednesday. For example, Roberto traveled with Peter to a seminar about operating a sod business, but when Peter expressed interest in purchasing a harvester, Roberto alerted Roger, and Roger disapproved of the purchase. "I don't imagine my clients will see anything of it," Sacramento lawyer Justin Gingery said. READ NEXT: Susan Susie Caseys Murder: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Paul Moore, Roberto Ayalas Convicted Killer, is Serving Life in Prison, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. CR53504) APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Colusa County, Jeffrey A. Thompson, J. "We've waited 25 months and seven days for this moment," said Eduardo Ayala, brother of the victim. As soon as that door starts to open, that washer is free. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Colusa) ---- THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. PAUL ROGER MOORE, Defendant and Appellant. From this evidence, the jury could reasonably infer that Paul had both the aptitude and unique skill set needed to build the type of explosive device that killed Roberto Ayala. He was able, however, to install electrical sprinkler systems. The perforating shrapnel- or fragment-related injuries occurred immediately before the fire-related injuries. Considering the ability to spring the money for such luxuries, Roger is definitely quite loaded. But the fire and law enforcement officials who performed the initial investigation did not know a bomb had been planted in the irrigation pump. Rogers exact whereabouts as of 2020 remain unknown. My house and property are protected, larger devices. Most significantly, they shared their animosity toward Roberto Ayala. Virginia Carmen Ortiz. November: By November the investigation had targeted Paul. Based on Peter's violent disposition and the threats he leveled at Roberto, among others, the rat trap YouTube video found on his computer, his basic understanding of electrical devices sufficient to enable him to install electric sprinkler systems, his familiarity with the field and with Roberto's responsibilities, his opportunity to plant the bomb, and his compelling motive to remove him from the farm, Paul argued that Peter planted the bomb that Roberto activated when he opened the electrical box to adjust the water levels on the rice field. While there is no evidence that he actually had been disinherited, Peter believed he had and that Roberto would be the recipient of his share of the farm. And Roberto Ayala, in particular, was the target of his wrath. But the degree of sophistication it takes to wiretap is not dispositive. Most of the indented impressions found on the sheet of paper matched the lines in the bomb diagram. provides funeral home, burial, veteran,. In the first message, Peter told Roger that the real reason Roberto's son was fired by another employer was that he was caught stealing and forging his time card, the same thing the Ayala boys had been doing to Roger for years. "The bells of justice have finally rung for us," Ayala said. God [sic] luck. Our sole duty, as we wrote at the outset, is only to insure that there is substantial evidence to support the verdict this jury reached. According to Peter, the Ayala brothers agitated Paul and he remarked, Those son-of-a-bitches, they are trying to take over my life. Please try again. Prosecutors David Druliner and Poyner argued that Paul Moore was clever and resented that he ranked low on the farm compared to other employees, particularly Roberto Ayala, who had a close relationship with Roger Moore. And second, we will test the substantiality of that evidence in light of the entire record, that is to say, in light of the compelling circumstantial evidence that Peter, not Paul, blew up Roberto Ayala. To understand if, why, and how Paul would have blown up Roberto, the prosecution attempted to tell the painful story of the men of the Moore family farm and their tortured relationships. Neither Peter's nor Paul's DNA matched swabs taken from the letters, envelopes, and stamps. Roger, Pauls father, got tied up in a civil suit brought by Ayalas wife, where she alleged that he must have been aware or should have been aware of Pauls malice and past criminal activities. My Life: Paul maintains that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting the prosecution's evidence of a document extracted from Paul's computer entitled My Life because its probative value was outweighed by undue prejudice within the meaning of Evidence Code section 352. However, the 3rd District Court of Appeals did not find any reason to overturn the verdict. Colusa Cemetery District grounds was established as a cemetery in 1873. On tonight's episode of Dateline NBC, Keith Morrison interviews family members and investigators in Robert Ayala's murder case. The jurors had the opportunity to observe Paul throughout the trial and to assess Peter's credibility throughout his lengthy direct and cross-examinations. But the document provided strong circumstantial evidence he secretly envied the position to which Roberto had ascended and the discomfort Roberto's presence continued to cause him. It will be reassigned in five weeks. He also threatened his Uncle Roger, despite the fact he believed Roger would be more fair to him than his father. The straightedge drawing is -- the diagram depicts -- what we're led to believe is that the diagram depicts the electrical box. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Paul Moore was convicted in state court announced Colusa County District Attorney John R. Poyner, Colusa County Sheriff Scott D. Marshall, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), San Francisco Field Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Riehl. After the trial in 2013, Moore appealed the decision in 2016. By July 2011 Paul had been reintegrated into the farm and had been promised a partnership with his father. We disagree. The prosecutor characterized Paul's wiretapping of his ex-wife as creepy and really unusual, and stated he taunted his ex-wife's parents by telling them about the wiretapping. In those instances, a defendant's prior bad acts are admissible. He had been angry and upset with the Moore family since he was 12 years old. Peter threatened both his uncle and his father. In his view, the admission of such prejudicial evidence rendered the state proceedings fundamentally unfair and violated his right to a fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Roberto Ayala had worked for the Moore brothers for 19 years, and brothers Paul and Peter Moore reportedly shared animosity toward Ayala. They also found a rat trap and three mouse traps in the pantry and fishing line in his boat. We have outlined the chronology of the investigation and how it produced evidence that Paul was quick to alert the investigators to evidence suggesting that Peter bore Roberto ill will, that Peter had threatened Roberto, that Peter had been at the scene of the explosion the day before it happened, and that it was an explosion, not an accident. The next guy might not catch the error in info and the wrong person will die. Eduardo Ayala testified that he knew Peter characterized him and his coworkers as a lazy group of drug addicts and alcoholics who would ruin the Moore brothers' agricultural business. Our criminal justice system is predicated on the fundamental notion that a person accused of criminal conduct must be convicted based on evidence that he or she committed the alleged conduct and not merely based on evidence of a criminal disposition or a criminal reputation.

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