Thread: Border agent's attorneys cite use of hand signals in hearing

Border agent's attorneys cite use of hand signals in hearing
By Josh Brodesky
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.04.2008

Throughout the murder trial of U.S. Border Patrol agent Nicholas Corbett, defense attorneys have claimed the three eyewitnesses to the shooting were corrupted by a Mexican consulate official.

To make their point Monday, defense attorneys called a Border Patrol spokeswoman, who said she saw the Mexican consulate official give the three witnesses "blatant" hand cues while they testified last summer at a hearing in Bisbee.

But during an intense cross-examination, prosecutors challenged how blatant those signals were, noting no one else, not even the judge at the hearing, saw them.

Corbett, 40, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Francisco Javier DomÃ*nguez Rivera on Jan. 12, 2007, after stopping the victim and three others in the desert between Bisbee and Douglas, near the U.S.-Mexico line.
DomÃ*nguez Rivera's two brothers and a girlfriend of one of the brothers have testified the shooting took place as the 22-year-old man was kneeling to surrender to Corbett.

Meanwhile, Corbett has claimed DomÃ*nguez Rivera threatened him with a baseball-sized rock, prompting him to shoot in self-defense.
In her testimony, Border Patrol spokeswoman Dove Haber said she attended a hearing for the case in August held in Cochise County Superior Court. While sitting in the small courtroom, she said she saw Oscar de la Torre Amezcua, Mexican consular general in Douglas, guide the testimony of the three witnesses.

"The signaling went on for all three witnesses that were called," Haber said.

And the signaling included de la Torre nodding his head "yes" or "no," raising his hands and moving his hand back and forth to signal "stop."
"It was blatant," Haber said.

But prosecutor Grant Woods, a former state attorney general who has been hired by the Cochise County attorney to handle the case, questioned how blatant these hand signals were. Woods noted that the courthouse was small, and yet the judge didn't notice any hand signals.
"You are saying this went on for hours . . . and the judge missed the whole thing?" he said.

Haber said yes, and after she was aware of it she told her superiors, who in turn told the judge.

An admonition was read to the courtroom, restricting any hand signals. But Haber said they continued.

However, when Woods read testimony from René DomÃ*nguez Rivera, a younger brother who testified after the admonishment, Haber said she couldn't remember any hand signals being used.

Woods noted the testimony for all three witnesses at the Bisbee hearing matched testimony given in federal court last week, as well as statements given to investigators in the days after the shooting.

The trial could end today, with the possibility Corbett will testify. Defense attorney Sean Chapman said a decision had yet to be made.

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Grant Woods is prosecuting this case?