He also threatened his Uncle Roger, despite the fact he believed Roger would be more fair to him than his father. Word On The Street: Community weighs in on Governor Newsom's death penalty executive order. A state appeals court this week upheld Paul Moore's murder conviction. In denying Paul's motion for a new trial on this ground, the trial court stated that the prosecutor's offhand and brief comment could not be fairly construed as arguing character. But the document provided strong circumstantial evidence he secretly envied the position to which Roberto had ascended and the discomfort Roberto's presence continued to cause him. The day before the bombing, Peter wrote that an old friend, Bea, had told him she hated his father and [s]o I think the world of Bea.. Paul was well represented at trial, and his lawyer effectively lodged these arguments, and many more, to the jurors. One of the investigators described the diagram of the bomb as follows: It's a diagram that has writing around the diagram and on the diagram. Ultimately, the Ayala family was awarded $20 million. Our criminal justice system is predicated on the fundamental notion that a person accused of criminal conduct must be convicted based on evidence that he or she committed the alleged conduct and not merely based on evidence of a criminal disposition or a criminal reputation. 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. Roberto Ayala had worked for the Moore brothers for 19 years, and brothers Paul and Peter Moore reportedly shared animosity toward Ayala. Becoming windy late. 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. Paul told the investigators that Peter had been around the explosion site one day before the explosion. Ayala died instantly from the explosive device, and fire and law enforcement officials originally believed the explosion was an accident. Paul Wynn Jan. 12, 2023. Previously driven by target one. 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. The perforating shrapnel- or fragment-related injuries occurred immediately before the fire-related injuries. Low 41F. He said Paul Moore is the "sole inheritor of the Moore family fortune." 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. Roger, along with his brother, Arlan, used to own Moore Brothers Farm in Colusa, California. The potential prejudice of admitting the evidence was slight. The prosecution called a litany of forensic experts connecting Paul to the sheet of paper with the indentations of the bomb diagram, the paper in the printer to the paper used in the diagram of the bomb, the ink in the copier to the ink used on the second letter and the diagram, the type of labels used in the letters and diagram to the type Paul used on his own files, and the fishing line found in his boat to the type of fishing line used in the bomb. Third Appellate District (Colusa) (Super. 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. Ayala was killed in an explosion in 2013. He thought the police were there to search for medical marijuana he was growing. Paul Roger Moore was found guilty today of murdering Roberto Ayala. The investigators placed a GPS (global positioning system) device on his truck, devices that often malfunction. Performance & security by Cloudflare. We have carefully evaluated the quantum and sufficiency of the evidence that it was Paul who murdered Roberto in the context of the whole record, and we have examined each of the pieces of evidence he contends proves that it was Peter who designed, built, and planted the victim-activated explosive device. He ran for about two miles to get help. There were talks of Moore being reappointed to supervise the Sacramento River Fire Protection District, from November 16, 2019, to November 15, 2023. The boy witnessed the explosion that killed his father. On December 6 of 2011, agents searched Paul Moores home and found evidence linking him to the crime. During the civil lawsuit, it came to light that the Moore brothers receive millions in government agricultural subsidies. Most significantly, Peter broadcast his contempt for Roberto. He learned that a bell rang every time a verdict was made. He was born on August 14, 1948, to Leonard and Lona Beauchamp. A bomb-sniffing dog did not alert on anything explosive in the house, garage, or truck. [] [], The bale strikes the nail, and the nail strikes the primer, and this is all happening immediately. But in a document entitled My Life that he stored on his computer, Paul complained bitterly about his life growing up on the farm. He explained that the indented sheet appeared to have been placed beneath the document that was actually written even though some of the lines did not align perfectly. Thus, the court disagreed with Paul's threshold argument at trial that the prosecutor's rebuttal was improper because it exceeded the scope of the defense closing argument. He is also survived by his brother, Roger Moore. The next guy might not catch the error in info and the wrong person will die. Our Customers Our company legacy is a living force that drives our constant quest to perfect the art of growing produce. We cannot say the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence of a pattern of fascination and aptitude with building things, some requiring electrical aptitude and some that did not. While Moores exact net worth as of 2020 is unknown, he must be worth millions. On November 24 they noticed the device was not working and they went to Paul's house to investigate. Neither Peter's nor Paul's DNA matched swabs taken from the letters, envelopes, and stamps. Defense attorney Linda Parisi argued that Paul Moore's cousin, Peter, was responsible for the bomb in the three-week Colusa County Superior Court trial that was moved from Colusa to Sacramento. The wiretapping incident indicates knowledge of electrical circuits, as well as the ability to alter and manipulate said circuits while maintaining personal safety. Peter's house was searched a few days after the explosion. He pointed out that the markings or threading on the metal indicated to him the explosion was not an accident. 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. Paul Moore, a family friend of Ayala's, was found guilty of setting the explosive device that killed Ayala after he turned on an irrigation pump at a rice field at the Moore Brothers farm.. We concur: Paul complained that Roberto was accorded special privileges, such as keeping sheep and goats by the farm workshop, drinking beer while working or after work, and driving company vehicles home. A friend read about his fingerprints on the indented sheet in a local newspaper and asked him about it when he called Paul in jail. Peter's best friend, Blane Martin, countered this narrative. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. The governing District was organized on July 16, 1923. Farm accidents are as old as the wheel, but was this an accident? Defendant does not quarrel with the limited scope of appellate review of an insufficiency claim. BLEASE, J. He opined that the second letter and bomb diagram had the same physical, optical, and chemical profiles. Peter had his stomach removed and lost almost 50 pounds. We accept for purposes of this issue the trial court's characterization of the defense closing argument. Ruben was born in Woodland, CA, on January 27, 1941, to Frank and Eleanor Reynoso. A defendant's writings have been admitted to prove motive over defense objection. C075231. No fingerprints were found on the two letters, and one of the envelopes contained the fingerprints of an unknown person. Periods of rain. These facts, in large part, form the basis for Paul's arguments at trial and on appeal. 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. The essence of Paul's argument is that the wiretap had minimal probative value because of the lack of evidence as to the quantum of knowledge necessary to build the bomb that killed Roberto. David Moore's birthday is 01/17/1944 and is 78 years old. Moore is the owner of the Moore Brothers Farm. During his apprenticeship, Paul worked alongside Roberto. They also found a rat trap and three mouse traps in the pantry and fishing line in his boat. That explosion occurred in about 1991. "It was owned by Moore farms, but was only driven by Roberto," Gingery said. There were pieces of metal shrapnel in his chest, neck, and brain. Second, Paul claims the substance of the rebuttal argument constitutes prosecutorial misconduct. Paul felt belittled as Roberto assumed what Paul believed was his own place on the farm. CR53504) History. He told investigators he had operated the panel five days before the explosion, and he drew an accurate picture of the panel. 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 straightedge drawing is -- the diagram depicts -- what we're led to believe is that the diagram depicts the electrical box. 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. The next day, the investigators at the Colusa County Sheriff's Department received a letter with a postmark from Sacramento that they learned was processed by the postal service in West Sacramento. The settlement also included about $44,800 in worker's compensation payments. His son heard a loud explosion and saw his father on fire. We are not at liberty to reweigh evidence or revisit credibility issues. The jurors had the opportunity to observe Paul throughout the trial and to assess Peter's credibility throughout his lengthy direct and cross-examinations. Are you concerned about the rising tensions with North Korea? ROGER HICKEL OBITUARY. Do I think Peter (Paul's cousin) did this? After the verdict, Parisi said she still believes a lot of questions went unanswered and that she will likely appeal the decision. They will find him. Cemetery Records. He claimed Roberto was a good person but admitted he became upset when he saw Roberto drinking and driving on the farm. Tucker reported the incident to the sheriff and to Roger. 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. Rain. This was an MS-13 [Mara Salvatrucha, a violent gang] job, something about a Mexico deal gone wrong. He thereafter refused to come back for any additional interviews. Furthermore, the trial brought to light that Rogers enterprise had several vehicles and machinery, which employees like Roberto were allowed to take for personal use. In December 2016, a Colusa County judge approved a wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2013 by Ayalas family against Moore Brothers, Arlan Moore, Paul Moore and Roger Moore. Because the My Life document was highly probative, it is not surprising or improper that the prosecutor quoted it in the opening of his rebuttal argument. Peter testified that two months before the explosion, his father told Roberto that if Peter came on the farm, Roberto should have him arrested for trespassing. ), Wiretapping: In opposition to the defense motion in limine to exclude the evidence of wiretapping, the prosecutor argued: Defendant climbed a telephone pole and attached a wire to the line, running the wire to a recording device. Roberto was Peter's nemesis, and it was Peter, not Paul, who stood to gain the most once he was removed. Peter was intimately familiar with the field where Roberto was blown up. 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. Paul alleges the trial court erred by denying his request to offer a surrebuttal to the second prosecutor's rebuttal and depriving him of the opportunity to offer a reply to the facts and arguments he had not raised in his own closing argument. Moore is the owner of the Moore Brothers Farm. 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. District Attorney John Poyner said Parisi was the best defense attorney he has ever gone up against. "I said, 'Pete, the jury now knows it was not Peter Moore, it was Paul Moore," Poyner said. August: On August 11 the investigators were informed that the chemical testing of the fragments from the explosion indicated the presence of nitroglycerine, a chemical used in explosives. 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. "Do I think Paul did this? Chance of rain 100%. While there is no evidence that he actually had been disinherited, Peter believed he had and that Roberto would be the recipient of his share of the farm. The trial court agreed with the prosecutor's position that the defense argument put in issue virtually all evidence that tended to show Paul's motive, technical skills, and past related actions and opened the door to fair comment on any and all evidence tending to link him to the crime. 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. 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.. Higher wind gusts possible. What is Roger Moore's Net Worth? Paul insists it was his first cousin Peter who had the motive and violent disposition to murder Roberto, a man who had claimed his father's and uncle's affection and devotion. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. 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. Colusa County District Attorney John Poyner announced early on he would not seek the death penalty. 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.. 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. A bomb exploded in a rice field, as Ayala was adjusting the irrigation pump. Most damning, they found a sheet of paper with indentations that appeared to match the diagram of the bomb sent to the sheriff. We find no merit in Paul's objection to the admissibility of his own life story. The investigators did not believe that a Mexican gang was involved in the explosion because gangs typically advertise their involvement rather than hide it, to incite fear and command respect. I would decline anyway because I saw target two with his girls and that I can't deal with. Dateline on NBC sheds light on the horrific murder of Roberto Ayala. Paul Moore was convicted of killing Roberto Ayala, an employee of Moore Brothers. Druliner, special assistant attorney general, said "Roger Moore is a very impressive individual, and upfront.". He was familiar, therefore, not only with Roberto's working routine, but also with the operation of the pump. Later, as a father, Paul taught Gunner how to hard-wire electronics to his car battery so he would not have to use the cigarette lighter to power the electronics in his car. We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion by calculating the minimal risk of prejudice and finding the probative value was sufficient to justify the admission of the evidence. "I don't imagine my clients will see anything of it," Sacramento lawyer Justin Gingery said. Dr. Svetlana Moore is a Family Medicine Doctor in Colusa, CA. Higher wind gusts possible.. Clearly, they both had hoped to assume managerial positions on the farm. COLUSA COUNTY (CBS13) - A man has been convicted of murdering a farmworker by setting a bomb in an electrical panel that was triggered by the victim at irrigation pump. "I feel like I've lost two sons in one time," Roger Moore said. Low 41F. We agree with the trial court that the document was therefore relevant to prove motive. Roger Moore also testified that his son had technical and electrical expertise, a characteristic that the prosecution said was necessary to construct the bomb. According to the Colusa County Sun Herald, Paul Moores sentencing and conviction was upheld in 2016. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Colusa) ---- THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. PAUL ROGER MOORE, Defendant and Appellant. Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. The letter stated: Ayala was actually warned what would happen if he screwed with these people. In early July, Paul was asked to drive out to the rice field to turn on the water pump without Roberto. 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? Higher wind gusts possible.. Paul Moore was found guilty on Friday of first-degree murder of Moore Bros. farm foreman Roberto Ayala in Colusa County after the jury deliberated for about five hours. I got name, age, vehicle description, plate number and location. The target is brother of target one and drives Chevy. 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. If the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, we must defer to the trier of fact; yet a verdict cannot be sustained based on suspicion alone, or on imagination, speculation, supposition, surmise, conjecture, or guess work.' ] (People v. Robbins (1988) 45 Cal.3d 867, 879; see People v. Kelly (2007) 42 Cal.4th 763, 783.) 107 5th Street, Colusa, CA 95932 Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. While it might sound like a humble title, Roger is seemingly quite well off. The bolts were just like the bolt discovered at the scene of the explosion. Marysville woman celebrates 100th birthday, Livestock auction returns to Colusa fairgrounds. Nor was there a terrible danger of unnecessarily inciting the jurors' passions. Lynette Marie Clark. Roberto Ayala was killed by a victim-triggered bomb when he. A Sacramento County jury found him guilty on Aug. 23. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. There was no direct evidence of who designed, constructed, or placed the explosive device. To be sure, Paul had demonstrated an advanced mechanical aptitude and an understanding of electrical currents. Peter threatened both his uncle and his father. Rogers exact whereabouts as of 2020 remain unknown. They asked for the testimony of only one witness to be reread to them. His body was still burning when the firefighters arrived. 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. December: On December 6 Paul's house was searched. Search by Name, Phone, Address, or Email. Believe me and have time to do something to help these guys.. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Paul insists the limiting instruction could not cure the prejudice. Of Paul Moore, Poyner said, "the guy is evil. According to the testimony offered by his father, his son, and his ex-father-in-law, that was a lie. Affirmed. He testified Paul constructed a rice roller and a fertilizer aqua bar in the farm workshop. Paul is Roger's son. On tonights episode of Dateline NBC, Keith Morrison interviews family members and investigators in Robert Ayalas murder case. However, the 3rd District Court of Appeals did not find any reason to overturn the verdict. Martin opined that Peter was not technically, with regard to electricity, or mechanically talented at all; rather, he was forgetful, had difficulty maintaining the tools he needed for his landscaping business, and suffered minor coordination problems. Here the prosecution sought to prove that Paul disliked Roberto Ayala, believed he was a liability to the farm, and thought that his removal would allow Paul to assume greater managerial responsibilities. Without going as far as the prosecutor in overstating the probative value, therefore, we do conclude the risk of prejudice was so conspicuously slight that it did not substantially outweigh the probative value the explosion-making incident had in establishing that Paul did have some familiarity, even if rudimentary, with working with explosives. Becoming windy overnight. Chance of rain 100%. Code, 1101, subd. Trig two, drop weight activated upon door opening. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. His son, Fabian, who was 7 at the time, witnessed the explosion and ran two miles through fields to find help. In The Court of Appeal of the State of California. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Gene attended Colusa High School and . 13.56.206.54 At trial he explained he had difficulty understanding the documents he was asked to review, but that he could understand an oral description of their contents. Gus was . Roberto Ayala died instantly from an explosive device that he unknowingly detonated at chest level. 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. 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. Colusa Cemetery District grounds was established as a cemetery in 1873. 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. Paul Moore was convicted of killing Roberto Ayala, an employee of Moore Brothers. In his view, the admission of such prejudicial evidence rendered the state proceedings fundamentally unfair and violated his right to a fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. 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 was a boxer in high school. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. 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. Eight stamps were attached for postage. According to the Colusa County Sun Herald, Susan Susie Caseys Murder: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. 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. White Ford, same plate number. Rice Subsidies in Colusa County, California, 1995-2020 . Thus, we do not address the theoretical question as to whether there is some line a prosecutor may not cross during rebuttal argument. The prosecutor did not rely on any evidence outside the record, nor did he raise any new theory. In fact, after Roberto injured his shoulder, Paul accompanied him on occasion to the irrigation pumps to adjust water levels. Over defense objection, Paul's ex-father-in-law testified that Paul apologized to him for tapping his daughter's telephone when they were going through a divorce, putting some kind of recorder under her modular home so he could monitor conversations. 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. We know that his farm has rice fields and walnut orchards. Given the brevity of the comment, we believe Paul grossly overstates its potential danger and conclude there was no prosecutorial error.

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