A Colusa County judge approved the judgment last month in the wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2013 by Jesus, Maria and Paola Ayala against Moore Brothers, Arlan Moore, Paul Moore and Roger Moore. (Evid. 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. 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. In fact, after Roberto injured his shoulder, Paul accompanied him on occasion to the irrigation pumps to adjust water levels. They had a warrant and wanted to find more evidence that would tie Moore to Ayala's murder. Rain. "Paul was afforded a fair. Im going to get that F*****.. Paul was eventually arrested for the murder of Roberto Ayala. Eschewing the old formulation characterizing a prosecutor's behavior as misconduct and urging us to consider the more forgiving label of prosecutorial error, the Attorney General defends the prosecutor's rebuttal argument and insists the court did not err by foreclosing the defense from making a surrebuttal argument as requested. Defendant does not quarrel with the limited scope of appellate review of an insufficiency claim. The first responders believed Roberto's truck had been moved because the broken glass was located about 11 feet away and a piece of glass was in the rear tire tread. 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. Paul's narrative of family intrigue has all the earmarks of a Shakespearean tragedy and makes for compelling drama. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. Paul and his young friend were burned in the explosion they caused, but their injuries paled by comparison to the injuries suffered by Roberto when the bomb he activated set him on fire and electrocuted him. Defense counsel, anticipating the very strategy the prosecutors ultimately used, complained to the trial court that the first prosecutor offered only a short opening argument, whereas the second prosecutor had argued for over two hours when she once again objected to the sandbagging. 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. On November 24 they noticed the device was not working and they went to Paul's house to investigate. Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. He also threatened his Uncle Roger, despite the fact he believed Roger would be more fair to him than his father. 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. A trace evidence examiner found the fishing line recovered from Paul's boat had the same chemical composition as the line around the bolt found at the site of the explosion. He thought he was safe in the States. He faces life in prison without parole This was my first and final job. I will come peacefully or detonate all the devices.. "We've waited 25. After the trial in 2013, Moore appealed the decision in 2016. I am sure MS-13 will figure out I tipped authorities and will soon come for me. Lynette Marie Clark. It's leveraged in between there. Believe me and have time to do something to help these guys.. September-October: On several occasions the FBI dive team searched the canal and the irrigation ditch perpendicular to the canal and found a fuse, hinge, washers and nuts, the inside part of the electrical control panel, part of the post the panel had been mounted on, and a timer box cover. Peter loved to shoot ducks. Moore is the owner of the Moore Brothers Farm. Ct. No. Eight stamps were attached for postage. Although he had used the irrigation pump years earlier when he was shooting ducks, the mechanism had been changed and he testified he did not know how to use the new apparatus. Defense counsel argued the document should have been excluded because it was written at least 18 months before Roberto was killed and many of the events Paul described had occurred in his early childhood. Paul maintains the prosecutor's comparison to DNA analysis imputed an accuracy to the paper and ink analysis that was not in evidence, and therefore it was error to allow the prosecutor to argue the ink, paper, and labels were matches. We agree with the trial court that the argument was permissible as a mere example or analogy. We find no merit in Paul's objection to the admissibility of his own life story. Becoming windy overnight. And we do not accept the proposition that a document that was either written or transferred a mere year and a half before the blast was too remote in time. The investigators would later discover that Paul had deleted individual text messages he had sent to and received from Peter. "That's why I took the case.". His trial lawyer provided excellent representation and advocacy. Of Paul Moore, Poyner said, "the guy is evil. He opined that the second letter and bomb diagram had the same physical, optical, and chemical profiles. But Paul insists the prosecutor's rebuttal constituted error, even if we assume it was not intentional. 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. On July 17 Roger gave the investigators two voice mail messages he had received from Peter. The prosecution need not, as we know, prove motive. While Peter and Paul have very different dispositions, they share similar grievances and similar life trajectories. Gene Wesley Beauchamp, of Colusa, CA, passed away on January 11, 2023, at the age of 74. He needs to be careful. The admissibility of uncharged acts depends upon three principal factors: (1) the materiality of the fact sought to be proved or disproved; (2) the tendency of the uncharged crime to prove or disprove the material fact; and (3) the existence of any rule or policy requiring the exclusion of relevant evidence.' If u have any questions, place ad in Sac Bee, help wanted, make it the last ad [in the] August 21st issue. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. As an adult, he became a football coach but was fired for his aggressiveness toward a student. Gunner believed his dad could repair just about anything and could make something out of nothing. One of Paul's favorite hobbies, according to Gunner, was assembling and flying radio-controlled airplanes. Paul's voice was powerful circumstantial evidence the prosecution had every right to exploit. We concur with the trial court's analysis that [t]his comment can, in the context of a case where the prosecution presented dozens of witnesses over several weeks, only fairly be understood as a comment that witnesses can be called by either side. He also noted that the second letter, bomb diagram, and indented sheet of paper had comparable levels of sodium, sulfur, and chlorine. Instead, he agreed that the saying, Don't let your bulldog mouth let your mockingbird ass get in trouble applied to Peter. In 2019, the board of supervisors of Colusa met. Half of the amount will go to. 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. Peter was more vocal, but Paul built the bomb that killed him. He never apologized, and her husband, Antonio Ruiz, demanded that she not confront him. Rain. That explosion occurred in about 1991. He took on additional responsibilities as his back healed, and by July 2011 Roger had decided to bring on Paul as a 50 percent partner of his half of the farm operation. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. According to the testimony offered by his father, his son, and his ex-father-in-law, that was a lie. (a). Do I think Peter (Paul's cousin) did this? This is an argument defense counsel had the opportunity to effectively rebut in closing argument. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Roger Moore also testified that his son had technical and electrical expertise, a characteristic that the prosecution said was necessary to construct the bomb. 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. And, as with the admissibility of the wiretap evidence, the argument is simply a diminution of the probative value suggested by the prosecution; it is not that the evidence bore no probative value, just that it was substantially outweighed by the risk of prejudice. According to CBS Sacramento, the Sheriffs Office received a letter on August 12, 2011 claiming responsibility for detonating the bomb. The jury was well acquainted with the wiretapping evidence as well as with Paul's description of his life. There is an abundance of evidence to support the notion that Peter has been a bully his entire life and his relationships ended poorly. Meanwhile, he was treated worse than any employee, worked harder, but was never given a raise. opened the power panel for a water pump on a rice field south of Colusa on July 16, 2011. C075231 (Super. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. He thought the police were there to search for medical marijuana he was growing. However, the 3rd District Court of Appeals did not find any reason to overturn the verdict. The trial court rejected Paul's allegations, most of which are a repackaging of the arguments we have already addressed. Since Arbuckle is close to Colusa, it is unclear whether Fabian and his family moved there, or if he just goes to school there. . At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. He testified Paul constructed a rice roller and a fertilizer aqua bar in the farm workshop. The investigators drove around the block a couple of times and on one occasion had eye contact with Paul. #Dateline tonight at 9/8c. It is true that the prosecution did not elicit testimony from the ex-father-in-law or from anyone else about what electrical knowledge was necessary to wiretap a telephone. In fact, the incarcerated man's full name is Paul Roger Moore, as a sign of respect to his father. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. They asked for the testimony of only one witness to be reread to them. Roger, along with his brother, Arlan, used to own Moore Brothers Farm in Colusa, California. Thus, he was suggesting by analogy that the document examiner could not say the papers were a positive match. The trial court rejected the defense claim that the prosecutor improperly had compared paper stock analysis to DNA analysis when there was no DNA analysis in evidence. And, of course, he was ostracized from the farm and estranged from his father. She concluded that all the samples came from the same spool or another spool having the same chemical composition and physical characteristics. And it is particularly challenging because, as Paul argues on appeal, there are no witnesses, no fingerprints on any of the bomb parts, no DNA, no confessions, and no admissions But it is the jurys prerogative, not ours, to weigh the evidence., They also stated that there was an abundance of circumstantial evidence that either Peter or Paul, or perhaps Peter and Paul together, built and planted the bomb that killed Roberto Ayala.. Upon detonation gas atomized for millisecond, completed the circuit triggering flashover, thus electrocution, fail safe and no disarming. Paul said the evidence was no big deal; he said the sheet was found in his house by the window, and he probably leaned on it and opened the window.. She thereafter requested the opportunity to offer a surrebuttal. Since I will not take this job, it will soon be reassigned. Taken together, their expert opinions constitute substantial evidence from which the jurors could reasonably infer that Paul was the author of the incriminating letters to the investigators and that it was the author of those letters with the knowledge of the intricacies of the bomb who must have designed, created, and planted it. IPeter or Paul: Substantial Evidence to Support the Verdict. Roberto Ayala was killed by a victim-triggered bomb when he. Second, Paul claims the substance of the rebuttal argument constitutes prosecutorial misconduct. We have found no error at all, and therefore there are no errors to accumulate. Roger, along with his brother, Arlan, used to own Moore Brothers Farm in Colusa, California. The evidence is all circumstantial. Find Dr. Moore's phone number, address, hospital affiliations and more. 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. The bolts were just like the bolt discovered at the scene of the explosion. Low 41F. He could not retrieve his father's cell phone because his father was on fire. 13.56.206.54 The letter stated: Ayala was actually warned what would happen if he screwed with these people. Half of the amount will go to Jesus, Maria and Paola Ayala, while the other half will be placed in an annuity for Roberto's now 12-year-old son. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. He stressed that Peter's history of acting out with physical force, coupled with his hatred for Roberto and his lifelong ambition to work his grandfather's farm, constitutes overwhelming evidence that Peter was the murderer. According to the Colusa County Sun Herald, Susan Susie Caseys Murder: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Becoming windy overnight. She also testified the labels on the envelopes sent to the sheriff were consistent with those on Paul's file folders, with the same type of polyester backing and the same type of acrylic-based adhesive. He contends the evidence was too remote, was not probative of his knowledge of electrical circuitry or constructing sophisticated bombs, and was substantially more prejudicial than probative. Clearly the jury was aware of which witnesses had been called by which side, and such a statement could not reasonably mislead any juror on that point.. So, heres everything you need to know about Roger Moore. (People v. Davis (2009) 46 Cal.4th 539, 606.) Colusa County District Attorney John Poyner announced early on he would not seek the death penalty. The evidence demonstrates that Paul had, on at least one occasion, experimented with explosive substances. 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. Therefore, the evidence shows a knowledge of, and experience with, electric devices under [Evidence Code section] 1101[, subdivision] (b) and should be admitted., Paul emphasizes that his ex-father-in-law offered the only evidence about the wiretapping and his testimony was simply that Paul put some kind of a recorder or a similar device underneath her modular home where he could, from time to time, monitor what the conversations were. Paul argues, therefore, there is no evidence that installing a wiretapping device demonstrated any particular knowledge about electrical circuitry or working with complex electrical devices. CR53504) After a few years, Martin Tucker told Roger that Peter and his friends were shooting every bird in the sky. We agree. Ayala was killed in an explosion in 2013. Nor do we find the prosecutor's equally innocuous statement that there is no such thing as a prosecution witness another example of prosecutorial error. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. CR53504) APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Colusa County, Jeffrey A. Thompson, J. According to the Colusa County Sun Herald, Paul Moores sentencing and conviction was upheld in 2016. Trig two, drop weight activated upon door opening. C075231. Nevertheless, there was probative value in establishing Paul's lifelong familiarity and experimentation with all types of electrical and mechanical devices. Name, age, vehicle I.D. Paul argues the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence he had wiretapped his ex-wife's telephone during divorce proceedings 15 years earlier and had made oxygen acetylene bombs 20 years earlier. Roberto was Peter's nemesis, and it was Peter, not Paul, who stood to gain the most once he was removed. Roberto's seven-year-old son told the investigators and testified at the preliminary hearing that he did not move or drive the truck after the bomb exploded. He said Paul Moore is the "sole inheritor of the Moore family fortune." Thus it was relevant and probative of his knowledge of creating explosions. I received info and instructions via USPS. He described how the booby trap would detonate, as follows: So imagine you take a metal box, typical control panel, electrical, that has the lip that goes around, and you have that little washer pin in there so that the lip of the box, I imagine, the door to the box and the box itself has this little washer sandwiched in between them so that it can't fall down. 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. December: On December 6 Paul's house was searched. Chance of rain 100%. As a child he rigged his light switch; as a father he taught his son how to hardwire his car; as a farmer he designed a mud chisel, rice rollers, and a fertilizer aqua bar. On October 3 investigators also found spikes down a private farm road. Someone will take it. The settlement also included about $44,800 in worker's compensation payments. 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. Eight fingerprints and the left palm print lifted from the indented sheet of paper matched Paul's. provides funeral home, burial, veteran,. Our Customers Our company legacy is a living force that drives our constant quest to perfect the art of growing produce. Previously driven by target one. On August 22 the investigators searched the farm shop with Roger's permission. He threatened to beat [his] dad's ass on multiple occasions. 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. Target two knows the Mexico connection and that is the reason 4 relocating n will not help target two. Express your opinion! But abused and ostracized by his father Gus, whom family members called Grumpy, Peter was not allowed to farm and instead spent 21 years earning a living in a landscape business he apparently loathed at times. Peter told Ruiz and Conedy-Ruiz he did not like Roberto, he was practicing karate to prepare him to fight Roberto, and he referred to Roberto as a son of a bitch. In either June or July of 2012 Peter told Ruiz and his wife to forget everything he had told them a year earlier. Higher wind gusts possible. Their investigation focused on whether the explosion was an accident. Whoever is driving the Ford is very much in danger. We will review that evidence in two steps: first, we will outline the evidence of solid, credible value the jury could have reasonably relied upon in finding Paul guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Paul therefore argued that he had no motive to kill Roberto, whereas Peter did. We agree the prosecution may have overstated the probative value by arguing the degree of sophistication a wiretap takes in the absence of evidence to support that claim. His reputation in the community would make Peter the more likely suspect than Paul. The jurors had the opportunity to observe Paul throughout the trial and to assess Peter's credibility throughout his lengthy direct and cross-examinations. Whatever they uncovered at his house, tied him to the evidence collected from the crime scene. The jurors could have found his behavior odd, even calculated to focus the investigators' attention on his cousin. Paul Roger Moore, 49, is facing life in prison with no chance of parole after his first-degree murder conviction with the special-circumstance allegation that he killed Roberto Ayala, 43, by planting. On December 6 of 2011, agents searched Paul Moores home and found evidence linking him to the crime. He noted that in a stack of paper, indentations can appear five pages down. One of Pauls complaints was that Peter got an air-conditioned cab, while he drove the tractor, simply because he was unbearable to work with, otherwise. Thus the victim, according to the explosive expert, would be injured simultaneously by the explosion and the fire. The circumstantial evidence against Paul Moore included opportunity to plant the bomb and familiarity with the farms, a unique skill set to fix electrical and pump problems, and Pauls bringing investigators a piece of metal he found near the explosion. From this evidence, the jury could reasonably infer that because Paul was familiar with Roberto's routine, he could specifically target Roberto by placing the bomb in an electrical pump panel he knew Roberto would be operating. The email address cannot be subscribed. In sum, there is an abundance of circumstantial evidence that either Peter or Paul, or perhaps Peter and Paul together, built and planted the bomb that killed Roberto Ayala. Peter texted, When [Roberto's] wing is better, he's all mine. Peter testified that when he wrote the message he was planning to beat up Roberto. We have completed one-half of our job by presenting the circumstantial evidence from which the jurors could have reasonably inferred that Paul had the familiarity with Roberto Ayala's work routine and how to operate the irrigation pump as well as the opportunity to plant the bomb and the unique skill set in electrical and mechanical design to have constructed the victim-activated explosive device that killed him. But in a document entitled My Life that he stored on his computer, Paul complained bitterly about his life growing up on the farm. Paul Moore was identified as the sender, and the authorities were soon knocking on his door. Higher wind gusts possible. They observed his vehicle leave the shop and the driver accelerated and eventually passed them at over 90 miles per hour. Location and meter number for panel. There is no direct evidence that Peter knew Roberto's precise work schedule or routine, but a jury could reasonably infer that he understood that a foreman's responsibility included adjusting the water levels on the rice fields. He felt mistreated by everyone, including Peter. My house and property are protected, larger devices. [Citation. [] [], The bale strikes the nail, and the nail strikes the primer, and this is all happening immediately. The boy witnessed the explosion that killed his father. "The bells of justice have finally rung for us," Ayala said. ADVICE: Are North Americans wimps when it comes to pain tolerance? Unfortunately, Arlan passed away, leaving Roger to handle the affairs. Moore Brothers * Grimes, CA 95950: $1,366,301: 86: J & S Farms * Colusa, CA 95932: $1,338,492: 87: . Paul was free to argue that the document itself proved he had no intention of harming Roberto because, even in his most private moments, he did not threaten him. Elena Paul & Kurt Richter Jv * Colusa, CA 95932: $1,211,092 * USDA data are not "transparent" for many payments made to recipients through most cooperatives. Roger attested to his son's aptitude for building things, albeit the examples he cited were not electric. Ruben Reynoso Sr., of Colusa, CA, passed away at his home on January 9, 2023. Code, 1101, subd. 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. The investigators did not desire to have personal contact with Paul at the time, so when he saw them driving by his house, the investigators drove away from the area. They also found a rat trap and three mouse traps in the pantry and fishing line in his boat. (People v. Ochoa (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1199, 1206.) 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. Whether or not there is some authority to support the questionable proposition that a prosecutor's rebuttal is limited by the scope of the facts and evidence argued in the defendant's closing argument, the prosecutor did not introduce evidence outside the record or float a completely new theory of guilt. 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,. We conclude the risk was very low. A trace evidence examiner testified that the chemical composition of the fishing line found in Paul's boat was indistinguishable from the fishing line wrapped around a bolt found at the scene of the explosion. 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. Peter had his stomach removed and lost almost 50 pounds. 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. Similarly, when Roberto and Paul disagreed about a design for a mud chisel, Roberto's idea garnered Roger's blessing. (People v. Johnson (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 410, 417-419. Gus was . 370; People v. Hillhouse (2002) 27 Cal.4th 469, 503-504.) A bomb exploded in a rice field, as Ayala was adjusting the irrigation pump. Neither cousin was happy with his place within the family hierarchy. He denied saying he would fire the Ayala brothers if he ever took over the farm and insisted he liked Roberto. Are you concerned about the rising tensions with North Korea? Moore is the owner of the Moore Brothers Farm. November: By November the investigation had targeted Paul. It will be reassigned in five weeks. Dr. Svetlana Moore is a Family Medicine Doctor in Colusa, CA. On tonights episode of Dateline NBC, Keith Morrison interviews family members and investigators in Robert Ayalas murder case. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. He wrote that his father thought he was stupid, but continually raved about Roberto's intelligence. The letter read: I am responsible for the panel explosion. Tucker reported the incident to the sheriff and to Roger. A Colusa County judge approved the judgment last month in the wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2013 by Jesus, Maria and Paola Ayala against Moore Brothers, Arlan Moore, Paul Moore and Roger Moore. Arlan "Gus" Richard Moore passed away at the age of 77 at his home in Grimes on March 29, 2015. . Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Colusa CA 95932. In 2013, Paul Moore, 53, was convicted of killing Ayala (first-degree murder on circumstantial evidence). You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. He was born on August 14, 1948, to Leonard and Lona Beauchamp. A forensic document examiner compared the sheet of paper with the indentations that had been seized from Paul's residence to the diagram of the bomb mailed to the Colusa County Sheriff's Department.