People v. Saenz Forteza

100 P.R. 954
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedOctober 25, 1972
DocketNo. CR-70-83
StatusPublished

This text of 100 P.R. 954 (People v. Saenz Forteza) 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
People v. Saenz Forteza, 100 P.R. 954 (prsupreme 1972).

Opinion

per curiam:

The three appellants were convicted by a unanimous jury of the offense of grand larceny. Sections 426 and 428 of the Penal Code, 33 L.P.R.A. §§ 1681 and 1683. On appeal they assign the following six errors :

1. The prosecuting attorney incurred improper conduct which injured defendants’ right to a fair and impartial trial.

2. The trial court erred in transmitting only partially a special instruction requested by the defense with regard [956]*956to the evidence of good character.

3. The trial court erred in denying the petition based on Rule 135 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, to order defendants’ acquittal.

4. The judgment is not supported by the evidence and is contrary to law.

5. The judgment is the result of evident error in the weighing of the evidence.

6. The trial court erred in denying the petition for new trial.

The facts may be summarized as follows. Francisco Muñoz Ortiz, a pharmacist since 1937, has a drugstore on Comercio Street in the town of Juana Diaz. At the time of the events the pharmacist, his wife, and an employee in charge of cleaning, took care of said pharmacy. The employee left his work at six in the afternoon and the lady at six thirty. The owner used to leave at 7:00 p.m. since he remained to balance the cash.

On November 7, 1967, at fifteen minutes to seven at night the owner was already alone in the drugstore. Two of the three doors of the establishment were closed; one remained open. Awhile before the owner had telephoned his daughter so that she would come to pick him up in the automobile. The daughter went and parked her vehicle in front of the establishment, in front of one of the doors which was closed and she remained there waiting for her father.

At about seven o’clock at night the pharmacist had finished and was getting ready to leave with a bag of cash money, which contained $3,500 in cash and $500 in checks. At that very moment Julián Saenz Forteza, one of the appellants, entered the drugstore and asked for two tablets of an analgesic called “Zactirin.” While the pharmacist was waiting on Julián, Valentín Saenz Forteza entered followed by Rafael Murillo Sails, the other two appellants. They had left a yellow and black topped Camaro car, with the motor running, parked [957]*957in front of the drugstore. Murillo asked for “Tetrex.” At that time the three appellants were standing in front of the counter. In order to deliver what they had asked for the pharmacist placed the bag of money on top of a desk which was at about thirty inches behind the counter. The pharmacist went to the back of the establishment to look for the capsules. He returned almost immediately with a bottle of capsules of “Tetrex APC” and Murillo told him that he did not want those but just Tetrex. The pharmacist returned to the back of the business looking for the capsules. He was back there for some minutes and when he came out, to his surprise, he found that the three individuals had disappeared and that the bag of money had disappeared also.

The pharmacist went out and noticed that the Camaro automobile was not there either. He immediately asked his daughter whether she had taken the license plate number of said car. She said that she had not, but that a short while before a friend of hers called Nilsa Marrero had passed thereby and had talked with one of the three individuals. The pharmacist’s daughter telephoned Nilsa Marrero and obtained from her the names and addresses of the individuals. The pharmacist and his daughter went to the police station and reported what had happened.

1. First error assigned: Statements of the prosecuting attorney. This assignment involves the following four incidents :

(a) In the cross-examination of the witness Bernard Kantrowitz, who testified with regard to Julián’s good character, the prosecuting attorney asked him for the names of the persons who informed him about that particular and after the witness mentioned some names the prosecuting attorney asked him:

“Now, you, for example, have you received any information, if any, let’s say, from prosecuting attorney Limeres, who is a resident of ‘La Rambla’ Development?
[958]*958No sir.
Have you received any information about the character of this Mr. Saenz from prosecuting attorney Martinez, who lives in La Rambla?” Tr. Ev. p. 180.

The witness did not answer this last question because the defense raised objection to it. The court pointed out that the prosecuting attorney could ask said question with regard to the neighbors of codefendant Julián Saenz. Later the prosecuting attorney asked the witness whether he'had received information about Julián’s character from any neighbor close to the latter to which the witness answered that he did not; because he did not know where said person lived.

(b) The second incident is connected with witness Juan Luis Oliver, who is a friend of Julián and Valentin. On cross-examination he testified “I have noticed that when we go to places, they accept them in the places where we go, they do not turn them away from the places, and they have friends everywhere in town.” Later the prosecuting attorney asked him: “And they go with you?” The witness answered: “Yes, sir.” Then the prosecuting attorney said: “Goming from you I don’t have the least doubt.” The defense raised objection to this comment of the prosecuting attorney and the court sustained the objection. See Tr. Ev. pp. 188-139.

(c) As to the third incident we do not have the direct quotation of the words of the prosecuting attorney objected to by the defense, because they were said during the course of his argument and the arguments are not transcribed. The explanation which appears from the briefs and from the transcript is the following. When Valentin Saenz was testifying he stated that when traveling from Ponce to San Juan he prefers the Aibonito route, because, among other things, on that route there are no policemen. On cross-examination the prosecuting attorney cross-examined about that and Valentin said: “because many times you go at 35 miles and increase to 45 and they take you thereat, and they catch you, and one [959]*959lives on his license.” It seems that in his argument the prosecuting attorney commented those declarations of codefendant Valentin and at that moment the counsel for the defense interrupted him and stated that “the prosecuting attorney has no authority whatsoever to say that a defendant has the intent to commit an offense.” Then the following dialogue took place:

“The Court: The evidence does not reveal that.
Prosecuting Attorney: To commit the traffic offense.
The Court: The evidence does not reveal sufficient elements for the prosecuting attorney to conclude in the manner in which he did.
Prosecuting Attorney: Not offenses, but traffic offenses.
Mr. Galib: Of lesser offenses.
The Court: Not up to this moment. That is, the fact that he came by Aibonito because of the police, that is, indeed.” Tr. Ev. pp. 238-239.

(d) Also with regard to this incident we do not have the exact words which the prosecuting attorney said, because allegedly he said them in his argument.

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100 P.R. 954, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-saenz-forteza-prsupreme-1972.