Without debating semantics, the point is that we must defer to the trial court's determination whether the evidence is substantially more prejudicial than probative unless the court has strayed too far from what is reasonable and sound. 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. (People v. Vereneseneckockockhoff (1900) 129 Cal. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. "We've waited 25. . The focus again, therefore, is not on just how probative the evidence was, but rather on how grave the risk of prejudice admission of the old incident presented. In his trial, he received a guilty verdict and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. ARLAN MOORE OBITUARY . He acknowledges, as he must, that our task is to review the whole record in the light most favorable to the jury verdict to determine whether it discloses substantial evidenceevidence that is reasonable, credible, and of solid valuesuch that a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 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.. Low 41F. How Was Roberto Ayala Murdered? - The Cinemaholic Becoming windy late. Gene Wesley Beauchamp, of Colusa, CA, passed away on January 11, 2023, at the age of 74. 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 July 16, 2011, Roberto picked up his seven-year-old son, bought him lunch, and drove to one of the Moore brothers' rice fields to adjust the irrigation pump. 107 5th Street, Colusa, CA 95932 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. 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. The court summarized what it perceived was a two-part argument: first, that Paul had no part in the killing and had no motive to kill Roberto because everything was rosy for him at the farm and he had worked his way into a happy partnership with his father; but second, his cousin Peter, who was bitter and estranged from the farm he loved, was a plausible bomb builder because he was capable of constructing the simple explosive device in question, particularly with the assistance of the YouTube video found on his computer. 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. 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. They found threaded pipe nipple, end caps in the form of reducers and plugs, other end caps, washers, nuts, multicolored wire, and seven-inch bolts. Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. We know that his farm has rice fields and walnut orchards. (People v. Morris (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1, 21.). Paul felt belittled as Roberto assumed what Paul believed was his own place on the farm. C075231 (Super. As an adult, he became a football coach but was fired for his aggressiveness toward a student. Peter testified he was not a trained welder, he was not talented when it came to anything mechanical, and the only electrical work he performed was the simple wiring of electrical sprinkler systems. (CALCRIM No. He did not like Roger and Roger did not like him. Tucker reported the incident to the sheriff and to Roger. According to CBS Sacramento, the Sheriffs Office received a letter on August 12, 2011 claiming responsibility for detonating the bomb. Word On The Street: Community weighs in on Governor Newsom's death penalty executive order. 3 Crim. Paul Moore was convicted in August 2013 of first-degree murder with special circumstances. Evidence Code section 352 provides the framework: The court in its discretion may exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will (a) necessitate undue consumption of time or (b) create substantial danger of undue prejudice, of confusing the issues, or of misleading the jury. In other words, the trial court is accorded considerable discretion to carefully balance the competing interests in admitting probative evidence and in excluding evidence that unfairly prejudices a defendant, and an appellate court will overturn the exercise of discretion only when the trial court's assessment appears to exceed the bounds of reason. Lynette Marie Clark. Farm accidents are as old as the wheel, but was this an accident? He ran to help him, but his father was unresponsive. This was an MS-13 [Mara Salvatrucha, a violent gang] job, something about a Mexico deal gone wrong. 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. and plate number. This was my first and final job. He also testified that Paul and a friend created an acetylene bomb by combining acetylene gas and oxygen in a balloon. He testified Paul constructed a rice roller and a fertilizer aqua bar in the farm workshop. Paul was afforded a fair trial. The investigators would later discover that Paul had deleted individual text messages he had sent to and received from Peter. I would decline anyway because I saw target two with his girls and that I can't deal with. Whether wiretapping is relatively simple or exceedingly complex, it takes a certain degree of knowledge to tap into someone's phone line. Periods of rain. Most significantly, they shared their animosity toward Roberto Ayala. Colusa, CA. The trial court cannot be said to have abused its discretion by admitting highly relevant evidence when the only prejudice is the fact the story Paul himself told was a damaging one. Whether a trial court has erred in admitting evidence under Evidence Code section 1101 is also reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Unfortunately, Arlan passed away, leaving Roger to handle the affairs. On December 6 of 2011, agents searched Paul Moores home and found evidence linking him to the crime. By July 2011 Paul had been reintegrated into the farm and had been promised a partnership with his father. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. He could not retrieve his father's cell phone because his father was on fire. 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. Thus, we do not address the theoretical question as to whether there is some line a prosecutor may not cross during rebuttal argument. More to the point, he contends the evidence we described above is not substantial when reviewed in the context of the entire record. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. During tomato harvest, he wrote, he drove the shitty tractor, but pussy Peter was allowed to drive the tractor with an air-conditioned cab because otherwise Peter was a prick to work with. Employees, including Roberto Ayala and Roberto's brother Eduardo, were given liberties he was not, such as drinking on the job, taking farm vehicles and equipment for personal use, and getting paid during the winter. He explained that he had posted a message entitled Horrible Tragedy on a sports gambling Web site wherein he described the death of Roberto Ayala. Paul's trial was not fundamentally unfair, and he was not deprived of his constitutional right to due process. 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,. Paul Moore convicted in Colusa bombing death, Animals in and out of control: Yuba and Sutter counties clarify common animal complaints, I view this as a solution: Habitat proposes 217-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Yuba City, Chili cook-off heats up Yuba City Moose Lodge, Marysville man serving time for attempted murder dies in prison, Plumas Lake man to be sentenced in case of pure evil, Caretaker who stole from the tulip lady gets community service, Marysville woman celebrates 100th birthday, Livestock auction returns to Colusa fairgrounds. 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. 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. Since I will not take this job, it will soon be reassigned. She sued Moore Brothers farm and three Moores - brothers Arlan and Roger and Roger's son Paul - in Colusa County Court. Peter's house was searched a few days after the explosion. Paul Moore is the son of Roger Moore, who co-owns the 1,800 acre family farm with his brother, Gus Moore. He denied involvement in the explosion, declaring it was a chicken shit way for somebody to do it. As mentioned earlier, he claimed he had little experience with electrical devices and no experience with the irrigation pumps. The straightedge drawing is -- the diagram depicts -- what we're led to believe is that the diagram depicts the electrical box. Ultimately, the Ayala family was awarded $20 million. Previously driven by target one. At trial there was no evidence Paul climbed a telephone pole to attach a wire to the line or any other evidence as to how Paul actually wiretapped the telephone. Like the first letter, the text of the second was made with a label maker and photocopied. Paul Moore of Grimes,. (Evid. The indented sheet had his fingerprints all over it, the paper matched paper from his house, the ink matched ink in the printer from his house, the labels matched his labels, and the fishing line attached to the bolt matched fishing line from his boat. Paul therefore argued that he had no motive to kill Roberto, whereas Peter did. Even though Paul Moore was the "sole. Your IP: A bomb exploded in a rice field, as Ayala was adjusting the irrigation pump. Many years before the explosion, he set up two duck blinds in a field on the farm. The fact that the prosecutor chose to highlight the damaging evidence only in response to the defense claims that Peter, not Paul, had killed Roberto Ayala and that he had no motive or nothing to gain from the killing was a strategic choice the prosecutors made. To be sure, Paul had demonstrated an advanced mechanical aptitude and an understanding of electrical currents. ROGER HICKEL OBITUARY. He thereafter refused to come back for any additional interviews. 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 jury reasonably could have concluded that his conduct following the explosion was incriminatorymanufacturing spikes that were found in the road and taunting the police in a dramatic chase. McNary-Moore Funeral Service in Colusa, CA. Robert John Vierra. On top of that, Roger surely had the resources to ensure everyone was looked after. 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. They attempted other ventures that failedPaul in construction, Peter in starting a sod business. Recipients of payments . They gave me two months 4 this job. Motive is one of the elements the defense argued most vehemently. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. He insisted that Peter planted the indented paper and that his fingerprints were left on the top sheet when he placed his hand on it to adjust a window shade. Ct. No. No fingerprints were found on the two letters, and one of the envelopes contained the fingerprints of an unknown person. Paul's son Gunner testified that when Paul was young, he rewired the light switch in his bedroom so he could turn off the light from his bed, but if a person did not flip the switch in a particular way, he or she would be shocked. Thus it was relevant and probative of his knowledge of creating explosions. Roger Hickel Obituary (1935-2011) - Colusa, CA - Colusa Sun-Herald Low 41F. While Moores exact net worth as of 2020 is unknown, he must be worth millions. And Roberto Ayala, in particular, was the target of his wrath. 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. ] (People v. Robbins (1988) 45 Cal.3d 867, 879; see People v. Kelly (2007) 42 Cal.4th 763, 783.) 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. In describing his life, he pondered what he had done to be treated so poorly by his own family. On tonight's episode of Dateline NBC, Keith Morrison interviews family members and investigators in Robert Ayala's murder case. Ruben Reynoso Sr., of Colusa, CA, passed away at his home on January 9, 2023. Colusa Cemetery District is owned and maintained by Colusa Cemetery District. Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage. Druliner, special assistant attorney general, said "Roger Moore is a very impressive individual, and upfront.". Of Paul Moore, Poyner said, "the guy is evil. 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. He was born on August 14, 1948, to Leonard and Lona Beauchamp. Eduardo Ayala testified that he knew Peter characterized him and his coworkers as a lazy group of drug addicts and alcoholics who would ruin the Moore brothers' agricultural business. We have outlined the chronology of the investigation and how it produced evidence that Paul was quick to alert the investigators to evidence suggesting that Peter bore Roberto ill will, that Peter had threatened Roberto, that Peter had been at the scene of the explosion the day before it happened, and that it was an explosion, not an accident. He was a boxer in high school. We have found no error at all, and therefore there are no errors to accumulate. David Moore's birthday is 01/17/1944 and is 78 years old. Paul's voice was powerful circumstantial evidence the prosecution had every right to exploit. He thought the police were there to search for medical marijuana he was growing. "We've waited 25 months and seven days for this moment," said Eduardo Ayala, brother of the victim. 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. The Legislature therefore has declared that evidence of a person's character or a trait of his or her character (whether in the form of an opinion, evidence of reputation, or evidence of specific instances of his or her conduct) is inadmissible when offered to prove his or her conduct on a specified occasion. (Evid. But 12 jurors of Paul's peers found that the circumstantial evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered Roberto Ayala and we must respect their verdict. 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. After a few years, Martin Tucker told Roger that Peter and his friends were shooting every bird in the sky. But Paul insists the prosecutor's rebuttal constituted error, even if we assume it was not intentional. I received another package via USPS, target two, I will not take this job because the info I received is wrong. Higher wind gusts possible.. The prosecutor characterized Paul's wiretapping of his ex-wife as creepy and really unusual, and stated he taunted his ex-wife's parents by telling them about the wiretapping. . 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. As soon as that door starts to open, that washer is free. February 3, 2023 (75 years old) View obituary. Paul's animosity toward Roberto and his feelings of humiliation and resentment were simmering for years, and who better to express his feelings, and inferentially his motive, to the jury than Paul himself? The case is a classic whodunit. On July 17 Roger gave the investigators two voice mail messages he had received from Peter. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Fabian is studying at a high school in Arbuckle. 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. To understand if, why, and how Paul would have blown up Roberto, the prosecution attempted to tell the painful story of the men of the Moore family farm and their tortured relationships. Moore is the owner of the Moore Brothers Farm. We simply cannot say the evidence that Paul possessed the unique skill set to build a bomb, that he had the requisite familiarity with Roberto's schedule and with the irrigation pump where the bomb was planted, of his fingerprints on the indented sheet that matched the bomb diagram and the remainder of the forensic evidence connecting his printer and his labels with the letter and diagram sent by the bomber to the sheriff, and of his suspicious behavior in framing his cousin and in manufacturing and planting the spikes in the road and chasing the investigators at high speeds, and his personal account of the lifetime of disappointment he felt in the way he had been treated relative to the way his father and uncle doted on Roberto, does not constitute solid evidence of credible and reasonable value to sustain the verdict. This envelope had a postmark from Colusa. Peter tried to convince his grandmother Mimi to disinherit his father, confident that his Uncle Roger would be more fair. Rogers exact whereabouts as of 2020 remain unknown. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Bomb victim's family awarded $20M | Colusa Sun Herald - Appeal-Democrat But the degree of sophistication it takes to wiretap is not dispositive.