State v. Perez

383 P.2d 745, 94 Ariz. 290, 1963 Ariz. LEXIS 321
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 3, 1963
Docket1248
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 383 P.2d 745 (State v. Perez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Perez, 383 P.2d 745, 94 Ariz. 290, 1963 Ariz. LEXIS 321 (Ark. 1963).

Opinion

STRUCKMEYER, Justice.

Bias Perez was convicted of manslaughter in the death of one Luis Lopez. He appeals from the verdict, the judgment, and from the lower court’s denial of his motion for new trial. His co-defendant, Tony Zamora, was convicted of second degree murder. Appellant’s assignments of error present but one question. Was there sufficient evidence introduced at the trial to support a conviction of the manslaughter charge ?

It is the cardinal rule that on an appeal from a criminal conviction we must take the evidence in a light most favorable to the state and resolve all conflicts in the evidence in favor of upholding the jury’s verdict. State v. Izzo, 94 Ariz. 226, 383 P. 2d 116; State v. Rivera, 94 Ariz. 45, 381 P.2d 584; State v. Milton, 85 Ariz. 69, 331 P.2d 846. The evidence viewed as the jury could have found it supports these facts:

On June 25, 1961, appellant Perez, Tony Zamora, Pablo Madril, and Alex Ortega went to the Truck Stop Tavern in Guadalupe, Arizona. Prior to entering the tavern they were seen together in an automobile by one Ambrosio Lopez, Sr., brother of the deceased, Luis Lopez. He testified in part:

“A They were sitting in the car and they were just talking in the car, I guess, and they—
“Q Well, now, ‘they.’ Who do you mean by ‘they’ ?
“A Well, the four boys, Pablo Madril and Cano and Tony and Alex Ortega.
“Q Was Bias Perez there?
“A Yes, Bias Perez sitting by the steering wheel.”

The boys entered the tavern together. Ambrosio Lopez, Jr., an eyewitness to much of the incident, testified:

“Q Who was in that car?
“A Perez and Tony and Ortega and Madril.
* * * * * *
“Q What happened when the car got there ?
“A The boys went inside.”

*292 After they entered the tavern, they asked a bartender, one Daniel Maldonado, to open a quart of beer for them. He refused believing that they were minors. Tony Zamora, co-defendant of Perez, then commenced the disturbance out of which the homicide occurred by pulling a knife and making threatening gestures and statements to Maldonado. The young men refused to leave voluntarily and were forced out. Maldonado testified:

“Q Now, what happened at that time?
“A No, they told me to open it, and I didn’t want to open it for them. And they said, ‘we are -going to do it by force.’ And I said I couldn’t open it.
“Q What, if anything, did Zamora do?
“A He took out a knife and pointed at me in this manner.
“Q What happened at that time?
“A Then Luis Lopez saw it and came over to put them out.
“Q Now, why wouldn’t you open that beer?
* * * * * *
“A Because they were minors.”

Zamora’s testimony corroborates the fact that they were involuntarily put out of the tavern :

“Q All right, go ahead and tell us what happened.
“A Then from there, well I told him [Luis Lopez], you know, I used to drink there all the time.
“He said, ‘Well, I think you guys better go out,’ you know.
“And then we came — were starting to go out, and then he started pushing me.
“And then I told him not to push me, see? Well, he pushed me out, and then I was standing in the door. He pushed me again. And then I pushed him back. And then is when he hit me. Yes, he hit me.”

The testimony of Ambrosio Lopez, Jr. and Ambrosio Lopez, Sr. develop what happened. Ambrosio, Jr. testified:

“Q Then what happened?
“A Then those boys came out again. “Q These four boys came out ?
“A Yes.
“Q Did they all come out?
“A Yes.
“Q All four of them?
“A Yes
“Q That includes these two defendants?
“A Yes
“Q And did your uncle come out, too ?
“A Yes
“Q And where were they at that time?
*293 “A At the porch.
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“Q Will you tell us what happened?
“A Then Tony pushed my uncle.
* * * * * *
“Q Pushed your uncle and then what happened?
“A Then my uncle kicked him.
“Q Then what happened.
“A They started to fight.
“Q Then what happened.
“A They fought a while and then Pablo handed the knife to Tony.
“Q Pablo did what?
“A He handed a knife to Tony.
“Q * * * And what did Tony do?
“A Got the knife and stabbed him on the back.
“Q Who did Tony stab?
“A My Uncle.
“Q Did you see this?
“A Yes
“Q * * * Then what happened?
“A Then they fought a little while with Tony and Ortega, and they left my uncle alone.
“Then my uncle went — was going around the cars to get in the tavern. Then Perez and Madril surrounded him and knocked him down, and started to kick him and hit him on the face.
“Q This was after he had been stabbed.
“A Yes.
“Q Did you see your uncle at that time ?
“A Yes
“Q Did you see any blood ?
“A Yes
“Q Where was the blood coming from?

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
383 P.2d 745, 94 Ariz. 290, 1963 Ariz. LEXIS 321, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-perez-ariz-1963.