State v. Otero1/24/2002
The defendant, Efrain Otero, has appealed a judgment of conviction of first-degree murder and carrying a pistol without a license in the shooting death of Teodoro Lara, claiming that the evidence presented at trial was not legally sufficient to support the jury's verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. For the reasons discussed herein, we affirm the convictions.
Facts and Procedural History
On June 27, 1998, defendant shot and killed Teodoro Lara (Lara) in a Providence bar known as Edward's Social Tap (Edward's). A grand jury indicted defendant for murder, in violation of G.L. 1956 § 11-23-1; for carrying a pistol without a license, in violation of G.L. 1956 § 11-47-8; and for possession of a firearm after having been previously convicted of a crime of violence, in violation of § 11-47-5. The last count was dismissed at the close of the state's case.
The key issue at trial was whether defendant brought the gun to Edward's and shot Lara deliberately, with premeditation and malice aforethought, or whether Lara had the gun, and defendant accidentally shot Lara in an attempt to wrest the gun from him. The state presented both direct and circumstantial evidence in support of its case. Eyewitnesses to the incident, Jose Morel (Morel), Carlos Hernandez (Carlos), and Julito Hernandez, testified that Lara was playing pool when defendant entered the bar, approached Lara, and shots rang out. Carlos, who was tending bar in Edward's that night, testified that defendant, whom he called "the aggressor," came into the bar, "went to the back where [Lara] was," and "right away * * * shot the other one." Morel, who was playing pool at the table next to Lara at the time of the shooting, testified that he saw something "silver, nickel color" in defendant's hand before he heard the gunshots.
A police officer, who arrived on the scene shortly after the shooting, testified that defendant opened the door to the bar, and when the officer "ordered him to show [the officer] his hands," defendant closed the door for "several seconds" before reopening the door, taking a step outside, and collapsing to the ground. On the floor of the bar, the police found a handgun that contained five empty bullet casings and one cartridge or "full bullet." The bullet casings matched the three bullets recovered from the victim's body, one from inside the victim's clothing, and one from the floor of the bar. An additional cartridge, of the same type as the others, was found in the rescue vehicle used to transport defendant to the hospital. No fingerprints were found on the gun.
Michael Sikirica, M.D. (Sikirica), deputy chief medical examiner for the State of Rhode Island, testified that Lara was shot five times: one bullet struck Lara in the face, passing through his left cheek; a second entered his left shoulder, punctured his heart, diaphram and left kidney and became lodged in the abdominal cavity; a third bullet entered his abdomen and became lodged in his pelvis, piercing the right iliac vein; a fourth traveled through his left hip and out through his buttocks; and a fifth bullet struck Lara in the left leg, remaining lodged in his calf. Sikirica described only one of the bullet wounds as "close range," that is, fired from " ithin a foot to two feet." In addition, Sikirica testified that Lara had cuts on his hands that were "consistent with somebody who had their hand on the gun and wasn't the person shooting it," also referred to as "defensive wounds." During the struggle, defendant also received a gunshot wound to the leg, apparently from one of the same bullets that injured Lara. Detective Robert Muir testified that defendant did not have a license to possess a firearm.
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