Heirs of Muñoz Pérez v. Cepeda

72 P.R. 554
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedMay 29, 1951
DocketNo. 10374
StatusPublished

This text of 72 P.R. 554 (Heirs of Muñoz Pérez v. Cepeda) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Heirs of Muñoz Pérez v. Cepeda, 72 P.R. 554 (prsupreme 1951).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Marrero

delivered the opinion of the Court.

It is an uncontrovertible fact that Feliciano Muñoz Pérez died of a bullet wound. Also that the bullet which caused said wound was fired by defendant Leonardo Cepeda. The heirs of Muñoz filed an action for damages because of the latter’s death. After a trial on the merits, the court rendered jugdment granting the complaint and adjudging defendant to pay to plaintiffs the sum of $10,000 as damages,1 plus costs and $1,200 attorney’s fees.

The fourteen errors assigned by defendant may be reduced to four, to wit: that the lower court erred (1) in not accepting evidence on the bad reputation of the deceased;2 (2) in weighing the evidence and in acting with passion, [556]*556prejudice, and partiality;3 (3) in ordering to strike the answer given by the policeman Lino Rivera, when he said that Andrea Rodriguez had told him that she knew nothing about the facts, on the ground that said policeman had not recorded an entry to that effect in the Police Blotter;4 and (4) in not admitting in evidence the Police Blotter.5

When in cases of this nature defendant maintains that he killed the decedent in self defense, the character and specific acts of violence of the latter are admissible in evidence for the purpose of showing that the deceased was a person of a violent and impetuous character. People v. Castro, ante, p. 92. However, in order that said evidence be admissible it is necessary to show that defendant had full [557]*557knowledge of the violent and impetuous character of his opponent, prior to the time when he felt compelled to kill him. People v. Varela, 42 P.R.R. 792, 793-4; People v. Quintana, 50 P.R.R. 60, 69; People v. Ramírez, 37 P.R.R. 84; People v. Sutton, 17 P.R.R. 327, 330; Wigmore on Evidence, Vol. I, Third edition, p. 470, § 63; Warren on Homicide, Vol. 2, permanent edition, p. 348, § 204. Said evidence is admissible to demonstrate the mental state of defendant at the time in which he so acted. Wigmore on Evidence, Vol. II, Third edition, p. 44, § 246. In the case at bar the evidence introduced tended to show, in an uncontrovertible manner, that defendant had no knowledge of the alleged bad character of his opponent. Under those circumstances we cannot agree with appellant that the court erred in not admitting evidence tending to prove such particulars.

In cases like the present one it is of great importance to determine whether the proximate and immediate cause of death was the fault or negligence of defendant. If he acted in self defense he should be exonerated of all responsibility. Méndez v. Serracante, 53 P.R.R. 807. Let us examine, then, the evidence brought before the trial court. To discuss the errors bearing on the weighing of the evidence we deem it advisable to make a summary of all the evidence which the court had before it, in order that it may speak for itself and show whether or not the court weighed it correctly.

Plaintiffs’ evidence consisted in the testimony of Carmelo Massari Olmeda, Jorge Valldejulli, Luz María Guzmán de García, Andrea Rodríguez, Ramón Nieves Alicea, Carmen Padilla, María Torres, Miguel Ángel Marrero, and Dr. Ramón Llobet. And that of defendants in the testimony of Dr. Antonio Ramos Oiler, Pedro Andino Benitez, Rafael Molina, Rosario Loyola, Lino Rivera Arroyo, Justo Aníbal Lanzó, Jesús Figueroa, Otilio Flores, Antón Álvarez, Modesto Pedrogo, Leonardo Cepeda Costoso, and José Soto Morales. Let us review the testimony of each one, eliminating [558]*558the repetitions in the testimony of each witness and anything that for the purposes of the case before us may be superfluous.

Carmelo Massari Olmeda heard two shots, but before that he saw when two automobiles arrived, one behind the other. Cepeda traveled in the front car. He saw the person who traveled in the second car, from the back. When the automobiles stopped, Cepeda left his and went towards the other automobile, returning later to his own. Later he returned to the other automobile with a revolver in his hand; he opened the door of said automobile and pulled out Muñoz Pérez by the arm. The latter was seated at the wheel. When Cepeda pulled Muñoz Pérez out he uttered some words and then turned his back. Then Muñoz Pérez “pulled out a revolver” and Pedro Andino said: “Cepeda, he’s going to kill you.” Cepeda hid and covered himself behind an automobile. Muñoz Pérez kept close to a sidewalk nearby and fired into the air. When Muñoz Pérez fired, Juan “El Malote” grabbed him from behind, pushed him into a store, and they struggled there. Muñoz Pérez ran out towards a nearby eating house. Cepeda came out from behind the automobile and shot him in the back. Cepeda kept walking towards the person he had wounded, revolver in hand, but Pedro Andino intervened to stop the shooting. The witness heard the two shots after Muñoz Pérez alighted from the automobile. It was a matter of seconds between the first and second shot. Muñoz Pérez ran when he saw he was disarmed and “then the man shot him in the back.” Upon being asked “And you told the judge that Muñoz fired when Cepeda was with his back turned?” he answered “Yes, sir, he was walking with his back towards him . . . but he fired into the air.” When Muñoz ran towards the eating house he carried no gun.

Jorge Valldejuli is a contractor and Muñoz Pérez was his partner. The latter started to work for the witness in 1947 for a weekly salary of $65 and 25 per cent of the benefits. His salaries until the day of his death amounted to [559]*559$3,630 plus a percentage- amounting to $4,899.30, that is, a total of $8,529.30.

Luz María Guzmán García says that about 9:00 or 9:15 o’clock that evening Cepeda passed by in his automobile and right behind him was Feliciano Muñoz in his. Around the corner, Cepeda’s automobile stopped, and Muñoz stopped behind him. Cepeda alighted from his automobile and went to Feliciano and told him to “get out, that he was going to burn the seat of his pants.” Feliciano did not move and then Cepeda opened the automobile door and pulled out Feli-ciano by the arm. Feliciano remained standing on the stre? *• with his hands in his pockets. Cepeda went to his automobile and came back with a gun, hid behind Feliciano’s automobile and the latter went to a nearby store, stood at the door and fired into the air. The witness saw the bullet hit the ceiling of the store. Also, that Cepeda fired at Feli-ciano. While Feliciano was in the store, Juan “El Malote” came and disarmed him, locked his arms behind his back and took away the revolver. When Cepeda fired at hiV Feliciano was standing in the doorway, disarmed.

Andrea Rodriguez is fourteen years of age, is in thrt. seventh grade and lives on Costoso Street. About 8:45 p.nr. while going to a store, she heard the brakes of an automobile and saw Cepeda in the front seat of a gray automobile and following behind, another black automobile. She saw when Cepeda alighted from his automobile, looked behind it and returned to his automobile. In the meantime Muñoz Pérez was blowing the horn and remained in his automobile. After taking the revolver Cepeda went towards Muñoz’s automobile and, angrily, said to him: “Get out if you don’t want me to burn the seat of your pants.” Muñoz remained in his automobile, Cepeda opened the door and pulled him out by the shirt.

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72 P.R. 554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heirs-of-munoz-perez-v-cepeda-prsupreme-1951.