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State v. Perez-Cervantes8/24/2000
Oral Argument Date: 01/11/2000
En Banc
Antonio Perez-Cervantes was found guilty of the second degree murder of Samuel Thomas. Perez-Cervantes appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeals, and asserted there that the trial court erroneously prevented his counsel from arguing to the jury that it was Thomas' use of illicit drugs and his failure to seek medical attention, rather than the stab wounds he received at the hand of the defendant, that caused his death. The Court of Appeals agreed with Perez-Cervantes' contention and, therefore, reversed his conviction. We reverse the Court of Appeals, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support Perez-Cervantes' alternative causation theory.
I.
Samuel 'Lucky' Thomas allegedly robbed Antonio Perez-Cervantes.
Thereafter, and presumably in retribution, Perez-Cervantes and several accomplices severely beat Thomas. During the affray, Perez-Cervantes twice stabbed Thomas with a pocketknife. The stabbing punctured an artery between Thomas' ribs, which caused blood to rush into the left side of his chest cavity. The blood eventually exerted enough pressure on Thomas' left lung to dangerously restrict his breathing.
Paramedics were summoned to the scene of the incident and, on arrival, determined that Thomas should be transported to a hospital for surgery. During surgery, doctors inserted a tube into his chest and successfully evacuated the blood and air from his chest cavity. Thomas remained at the hospital for several days, until his condition stabilized sufficiently to permit him to be released. He then went home to recuperate.
Two days after he was released from the hospital, Thomas began complaining to his girl friend, Annette Holman, about his injuries. Two days later, he began experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath. When Thomas' breathing became alarmingly shallow, Holman called 911 to summon help. Unfortunately, Thomas stopped breathing before the medics arrived. Efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy on Thomas' body indicated that, at the time of his death, he had approximately five liters of fresh blood in his left chest cavity. Pierce County medical examiner, Dr. Emmanuel Lacsina, found significant hematoma around the area of the stab wound and, therefore, ruled out any other trauma as the cause of Thomas' internal bleeding and death. He determined that Thomas' 'death was due to a stab wound,' with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which Dr. Lacsina described as 'real bad emphysema,' as the only 'contributing factor.' Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) vol. II at 26, 27.
Toxicology tests revealed the presence of the 'breakdown product{s}' of heroin and cocaine in Thomas' bloodstream at the time of death. VRP vol. II at 22. Consequently, Dr. Lacsina amended the death certificate to add 'acute cocaine and heroin abuse as contributing factors.' VRP vol. II at 27.
Thereafter, an eyewitness to the attack on Thomas informed a Tacoma police detective that Perez-Cervantes had stabbed Thomas. Based on that information, the Pierce County prosecutor charged Perez-Cervantes with murder in the second degree.
At trial, Dr. Lacsina was the only witness who testified about the cause of Thomas' death. He said that Thomas died from 'internal bleeding as a result of the stab wound.' VRP vol. II at 24. He also testified that cocaine use could have caused an elevation in blood pressure, leading to 're-bleeding' from Thomas' stab wound, and that heroin use could have masked the pain of this re-bleeding.
Although Dr. Lacsina opined that the levels of cocaine in Tho
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