Padilla v. State

618 So. 2d 165, 1993 WL 83072
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMarch 25, 1993
Docket76493
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 618 So. 2d 165 (Padilla v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Padilla v. State, 618 So. 2d 165, 1993 WL 83072 (Fla. 1993).

Opinion

618 So.2d 165 (1993)

Raymond PADILLA, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 76493.

Supreme Court of Florida.

March 25, 1993.
Rehearing Denied June 1, 1993.

*166 Scott W. Sakin, Miami, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Anita J. Gay, Asst. Atty. Gen., Miami, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Raymond Padilla appeals his convictions of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder and the trial court's imposition of the death penalty in accordance with the jury recommendation, as well as his departure sentence for the attempted first-degree murder. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. We affirm Padilla's convictions but remand this cause for new sentencing proceedings.

The relevant facts reflect that, in the latter part of 1988 and the early part of 1989, Padilla had a relationship with Marisella Davila and that they briefly lived together in her apartment. The relationship ended when she asked him to move out of the apartment. At approximately noon on February 10, 1989, the day of the murder, Padilla gave a Mr. Rodriguez a .38 caliber gun as collateral for a loan. On that same date, Marisella moved out of the apartment she and Padilla had occupied and into a new apartment, completing the move at about five o'clock in the afternoon. Around 6:00 or 6:30 that evening, Padilla was at work when Hector Davila and Paul Gomez, Marisella's son and nephew, respectively, asked Padilla to come outside. Padilla stated that Paul held a gun on him while Hector beat him. Rodriguez testified that around dinner-time Padilla appeared at his house, bleeding from his head and hand, and explained that Hector and Paul had beat him up. Padilla asked Rodriguez for and obtained the return of the gun that Padilla had given him as collateral. Rodriguez told him to be careful and Padilla replied, "A man has got to do what a man has got to do." Approximately thirty minutes later, Padilla returned to Rodriguez's home and asked Rodriguez for more ammunition. Rodriguez asked Padilla what he had done with the other bullets, to which Padilla responded that he had "wasted" them. Rodriguez then gave him three bullets from another gun. Marisella testified that, upon returning to her old apartment the day after this incident, she observed holes in the window that had not been there the day before.

Eyewitnesses to the murder testified that, in the early evening of February 10, they saw Padilla at Marisella's new apartment. The witnesses testified that, as Paul returned from the dumpster to Marisella's new apartment, Padilla pulled a gun from his waistband, stated, "Yeah, motherfucker, I've got you now," and shot Paul once in the back of the head. Paul fell to the ground face down. The eyewitnesses testified that, when Marisella opened the door, Padilla shot at her. Marisella testified that, when she heard the shots, she went to the front door, opened it, and saw Padilla standing outside pointing a gun directly at her. She stated that, after closing the door, she felt something pull her backwards. She then noticed blood on herself and realized that she had been shot.

Rodriguez testified that, about a half hour after he gave Padilla the additional bullets, Padilla came back to Rodriguez's house and stated that he had "shot them" and that he needed a ride to his house. Rodriguez drove Padilla to pick up his wife and children and then to a friend's house.

The next day, Padilla was arrested for first-degree murder. After being advised of his rights, he admitted the shooting, explaining that he had been beaten up and went back to get revenge. He confessed to firing one shot at Paul and stated that, upon seeing the apartment door open, he thought that Hector was coming out and fired two shots into the apartment. Padilla stated that he then left the scene and threw the gun into a canal.

The medical examiner testified that Paul died as a result of a single gunshot wound through the back of his head. The examiner further stated that the single gunshot wound instantly incapacitated Paul. A firearms expert testified that the bullets recovered from Marisella's prior apartment, *167 the bullet from Paul's body, and the bullet found in the living room wall of Marisella's new apartment were all fired from a .38 special revolver and all were very consistent. Padilla presented no evidence in the guilt phase of the trial and was found guilty as charged by the jury.

At the penalty phase, the State presented two witnesses. The first was a New York parole officer assigned to monitor Padilla's parole. Padilla had been sentenced to serve twenty years for first-degree manslaughter and had been paroled on June 27, 1986, with his parole obligation to expire on October 26, 1994. There was no dispute that Padilla had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in New York and had been sentenced as stated above.

The State next presented a homicide detective who presented evidence concerning the circumstances of the incident that led to the manslaughter plea. This detective stated that Padilla had given him a statement of how the victim died in the New York incident. In that statement, Padilla stated that he had been invited to have a beer in the victim's apartment and that, when the victim took off his pants and came toward him, Padilla hit the victim in the chest and face. The detective testified that, when the victim fell unconscious into the bathtub full of water, Padilla began to look around for valuable items to take. After finding a ring, camera, chain, and television set, Padilla observed the victim trying to get up. Padilla then pushed the victim's head underwater. A short time later, Padilla saw the victim lying on his side and again held his head underwater. Evidence was then presented that Padilla was initially charged with second-degree murder but entered a plea to manslaughter.

The defense presented testimony from Padilla's sister, who testified that their father was a violent man who kicked and punched her brother three or four times a week when they were young. She testified that Padilla was frequently beaten with an electrical cord or a belt by their parents. She further testified that her brother had mental health problems, explaining that he had received electric shock therapy at the age of ten and had been placed in a mental institution in Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of thirteen. On cross-examination, the prosecutor asked the sister, "And are you aware of the fact that your brother Raymond Padilla, beat his wife?" Defense counsel objected and moved for a mistrial. The trial court denied the motion for mistrial but warned the prosecutor about introducing this type of evidence.

The defense also presented the expert testimony of Dr. Jethro Toomer, a psychologist, who concluded that Padilla suffered from a borderline personality disorder that had formed during Padilla's childhood. Dr. Toomer stated that, in his opinion, Padilla could not appreciate the criminality of his conduct and could not conform his conduct to the requirements of law. He testified concerning Padilla's history of psychological problems, the electric shock therapy and doses of thorazine Padilla had received, and the fact that Padilla had been physically abused as a child.

Padilla then testified on his own behalf, corroborating that, as a child, he had been beaten a great deal by his father and that he had been hospitalized as a result of one of these beatings. Padilla also stated that he had liked Paul and that his problems with Paul did not start until after his relationship with Marisella came to an end.

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