Im sorry, no cost is to high to punish this *&!@%$! for his crimes.
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Im sorry, no cost is to high to punish this *&!@%$! for his crimes.
2 thumbs up for the PA supreme court
finally moving forward
lets just hope justice prevails in PA
mike
http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=4426
Friday, September 01, 2006 — Time: 2:24:28 AM EST
Mental state, drug and alcohol use likely to be used in strategy at trial of accused triple murderer Miguel Padilla
By Phil Ray. pray@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Lawyers for Miguel A. Padilla said Thursday that their client’s mental state and the amount of alcohol and drugs he consumed may be important in his defense on charges he murdered three people.
Blair County Public Defender Donald E. Speice said Padilla was mourning the death of his best friend the week before the shootings Aug. 28, 2005, outside the United Veterans Association on Union Avenue in Altoona.
The 27-year-old also suffers from panic attacks, Speice said.
Before the shootings, Padilla and a friend were drinking at The Palace, another Altoona nightclub, Speice said.
Padilla’s death penalty trial begins Tuesday in Hollidaysburg before a Cumberland County jury.
Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio said the prosecution has a right to know if Judge Hiram Carpenter will permit arguments that “intoxication” and “diminished capacity” will be part of the trial because that will affect the witnesses prosecutors present to the jury.
The defense says it can argue intoxication to the jury as a way to mitigate the degree of murder against Padilla.
But prosecutors argue that the intoxication has to reach a certain level before Padilla’s lawyers can claim it is a defense to first-degree murder.
Several other pretrial issues were brought before Carpenter Thursday.
Prosecutors want to use stories of Padilla’s violent past as part of its case against him.
Also, when Padilla was arrested and was placed in a holding cell at the Altoona Police Department, he attempted to wash his hands.
Prosecutors want to present this information as evidence that Padilla knew police were about to administer a test for gunpowder residue.
Speice said the attempted hand-washing incident report only recently was given to the defense to prejudice the jury.
Padilla is charged with killing Alfred Mignogna, Fredrick Rickabaugh and Stephen Heiss in the parking lot behind the UVA club after Padilla, friend Travis Shoemaker and Shoemaker’s mother, Shirley, were refused admission.
Jury selection ended Monday in Cumberland County. The panel was selected out of county because of pretrial publicity.
Padilla, an illegal alien, was in court Thursday, as was his mother and girlfriend and two representatives of the Mexican consulate from Philadelphia. Two members of Rickabaugh’s family also attended.
The jury will be bused to Blair County Tuesday night. Jurors will be housed in a local motel throughout the two-week trial.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
http://www.wjactv.com/news/9790570/detail.html
Blair County Triple-Murder Trial Set To Begin
POSTED: 2:01 pm EDT September 5, 2006
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Blair County --
The long-anticipated trial of a triple-murder case is scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Miguel Padilla, a Mexican immigrant, is charged with killing three men in Altoona last year.
Blair County district attorney Rich Consiglio said he has not offered Padilla any deals and said he is ready to get the trial started.
Consiglio said he doesn't expect any problems from family members at the trial. He said they have been given rules from the judge such as what they are permitted to wear. Victims' families are not allowed to memorialize them with clothing or badges.
The jury of six men and six women from Cumberland County are expected to arrive Tuesday night.
Opening statements begin Wednesday at 9 a.m.
I work at the court house and it was all I can do to over my lunch break to keep from trying to go strangle that S.O.B. while they had him in the holding cell (or where ever it is they're keeping him).
From what I understand, they were so concerned about security that they brought Padilla to the court house at 5:30 AM today.
My boyfriend and I would like to take a couple days off work to sit in on the trial, but I'm not certain we could get in.
Also, since my office doesn't have a TV, I talked to the one local news anchor who was in court all morning. He said the defense isn't trying to say that Padilla didn't do the shooting, but that he didn't have a 'will to kill'. Ridiculous.
I'm rambling...I apologize.
I guess it's also been a long time since I posted. I'd also like to add that it is great that you all have followed this story and have paid such attention to it. Steve, Freddy and Al may be gone, but they are certainly not forgotten.
Edited to add: here's the story and a link with video of the reporter I spoke with talking about this morning's opening statments.
http://www.wtajtv.com/news/local/3849837.html
No need to apologize Jenny. It didn't appear you were rambling. Even if you were that is okay also. I can hardly fathom going through a murder trial of friends or loved ones. I'll keep updating the thread with new articles as I run across them. Glad you can give some personal insight into the trial since it adds more than any of the articles can.
Thanks for the article and video of the trial!
Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian503a
I'd also like to add that I have two other coworkers who have a connections to the victims. One dated Steve, albeit briefly, a long time ago, but was still deeply affected by his death. The other was an old friend of Al's. He ran into one of Al's sons in the lobby before the trial reconvened and said that they seem to be holding up well.
I really hope the trial goes smoothly and they can get a conviction without any mistrials. You guys have had to agonize over this long enough. Unfortunately it is something you can never forget or completely get over no matter how well you are holding up. My prayers and thoughts go out to all of you during this time.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=4565
Wednesday, September 06, 2006 — Time: 2:56:43 PM EST
Padilla loses bid to delay trial
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Miguel Padilla’s triple-murder trial will begin this morning despite a last-ditch effort by the defendant Tuesday to delay the start.
In a handwritten petition filed in the Blair County Courthouse, Padilla claimed his attorneys, Public Defender Don Speice and court- appointed attorney Ed Blanarik, were not prepared.
Blanarik, who will handle the death penalty phase of the case if Padilla is convicted of first-degree murder, needs more time to talk to Padilla’s family members who live outside the state, Padilla wrote.
Padilla’s stepfather, who lives in Gallitzin, recently was injured in a fall and cannot attend the trial, the petition states.
The Mexican government attached several pages of typewritten legal argument to Padilla’s handwritten petition.
Judge Hiram Carpenter refused the delay, clearing the way for trial.
Carpenter also made several rulings involving evidence that will be presented to the jury from Cumberland County.
Carpenter will not allow mention of any of Padilla’s past criminal offenses.
Altoona police have said they found the murder weapon and a briefcase bearing Padilla’s driver’s license and $19,000 a few blocks from the crime scene.
The jury will not learn about the money in the briefcase.
It also will not be permitted to hear testimony from a man who said Padilla pointed a gun at him a month before the shootings, although the statement may be permitted in a later stage of the case.
The jury also will not hear about an incident at the Altoona police station in which Padilla attempted to wash his hands before a police test for gunpowder residue.
Padilla is charged with killing three Altoona men outside the United Veterans Association Aug. 28, 2005.
Padilla, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, friend Travis Shumaker and his mother, Shirley Shumaker, allegedly had an argument with the owner of the UVA building, Alfred Mignogna, and club employee Freddy Rickabaugh.
Padilla allegedly shot the men to death, as well as patron Stephen Heiss.
The emotionally charged case and pretrial publicity prompted Carpenter to order an out-of-county jury, selected two weeks ago in Carlisle, Cumberland County.
Court employees transported the 18 jurors to Blair County Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, sheriff's deputies and court personnel addressed security concerns.
A metal detector was set up outside the second-floor courtroom where the trial will be held. Signs were posted specifying where the media, the victims’ families and friends and Padilla’s family will sit.
Printed courtroom rules were prepared for distribution as well.
The courtroom normally occupied by President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva was selected for the trial because it is a few steps from an elevator that will be used to bring Padilla into the courthouse.
District Attorney Richard Consiglio and his assistant Jackie Bernard, who will try the case, said Tuesday that they don’t expect security to be a problem.
Consiglio said his staff has talked to the victims’ families and friends about the trial and told them that they should not wear badges, pictures or other memorials while in the courtroom.
Consiglio predicted his case will take three or four days, and the trial is expected to last a week.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
http://www.tribune-democrat.com
Published: September 05, 2006 11:48 pm
Padilla murder trial set to begin
Cumberland County jury will hear case
By KATHY MELLOTT
The Tribune-Democrat
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Opening arguments will be held and the first witnesses will take the stand today to start the triple murder trial of a Cambria County man.
A jury from Cumberland County was bused in to Blair County on Tuesday evening.
Miguel Padilla, 26, of Gallitzin, an illegal Mexican immigrant and a resident of Cambria County since 1988, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of any of the three Altoona men.
Police say that on Aug. 28, 2005, Padilla, angered when he was denied admission to a private club, gunned down club owner Alfred Mignogna, 61; doorman Fred Rickabaugh, 59; and Stephen Heiss, 27, a patron and guard at SCI-Huntingdon.
The jury will be sequestered at a Blair County motel during the trial, which is expected to last through Sept. 15.
An out-of-county jury was selected because of wide publicity about the murders.
Last week, paid newspaper memorials marked the one-year anniversary of the shootings.
Mignogna’s tribute was a full back page with a large color photo. It included a list of nearly 200 contributors to an endowment fund.
Blair County Sheriff Larry Field was relieved when the trial was moved from an older courtroom to more secure accommodations.
“I’m going to have two deputies right on him. And there will be others. We’ll be around overseeing everything,” Field said Tuesday.
Defense attorney Donald Speice and Blair County Assistant District Attorney Jackie Bernard expect Judge Hiram Carpenter to rule on whether Padilla will be able to claim diminished capacity because of drug or alcohol use.
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/15452762.htm
Posted on Wed, Sep. 06, 2006
Lawyer: Man accused of killing 3 outside club was off medication
GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. - A man accused of fatally shooting three people outside a social club last year had stopped taking medication for a panic disorder at the time and did not intend to kill them, his attorney said Wednesday.
Miguel Padilla, 27, of Gallitzin, faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the Aug. 28, 2005, shootings outside the United Veterans Association Club in Altoona.
Defense attorney Don Speice acknowledged during opening arguments of the trial that his client fired the shots, but said he clearly did not have the intent to kill.
"The evidence clearly shows that Mr. Padilla fired the gun eight times," Speice said. "Does it establish murder? Yes. Does it establish murder in the first-degree? No."
But Blair County prosecutors argued that Padilla displayed "a will to kill" when he shot the three men after Padilla's friend got into an argument with doorman Fred Rickabaugh.
Jackie Bernard, an assistant prosecutor, said Padilla went to his friend's car for a gun, walked back and shot Rickabaugh and club owner Alfred Mignogna. A patron outside, Steven Heiss, was also shot and killed.
"The defendant was a coward. As quickly as he shot those three men is as quickly as he fled from the scene," Bernard said.
Speice told the jury that Padilla had been off his medication the evening of the shooting. He also said Padilla may have been influenced by the suicide of a close friend three days earlier.
After the shootings, prosecutors said, Padilla ran to his friend's house and called police. Authorities found the gun and a briefcase with Padilla's identification in a wooded area two blocks from the house.
Padilla is a Mexican citizen who has been in the United States illegally since age 9. The judge has ordered that information kept from the jury, claiming it could be prejudicial.
The emotionally charged case has generated so much publicity in Blair County that the jury hearing the case was selected from Cumberland County and bused to Hollidaysburg.
jennyc,
Many of us have been following this senseless and unnecessary crime (if the jerks hadn't been here illegally, there would have been no murders) since the beginning.
I'm sure that I can add to Brian's posts, that all of us are concerned and pray for you and all the families and friends of the victims.
Let us know how we can help.
We let Brian know from the first that we wanted to be kept up to date, since he's the best poster here.
{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}} Pat
http://www.wjactv.com/news/9797003/detail.html
Triple-Murder Trial Underway In Blair County
POSTED: 12:58 pm EDT September 6, 2006
UPDATED: 1:42 pm EDT September 6, 2006
Blair County -- More than a year after he was charged with killing three men outside of an Altoona club, illegal immigrant Miguel Padilla is on trial.
Opening statements began Wednesday amidst tight security.
The judge laid down ground rules before the jury entered the courtroom, and said the stakes were too high for distractions.
Attorney Jackie Barnard said she intends to prove Padilla intended to kill with murder in the first degree.
Padilla's attorney, Don Feast, said Padilla shot the three men but did not intend to kill.
Feast said his client's mental state must be considered, and added that Padilla's best friend committed suicide the week of the killings.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=4594
Thursday, September 07, 2006 — Time: 1:38:14 AM EST
Defense: He did it
Attorneys focus on saving Padilla from death penalty
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...3a/a1trial.jpg
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Miguel A. Padilla of Gallitzin was sexually molested by an uncle as a child.
He suffers from panic attacks, and his best friend committed suicide in August 2005.
His attorneys said Wednesday that these factors, plus a night on the town, came to the forefront early Aug. 28, 2005.
Padilla saw a friend forcefully being denied admittance to the United Veterans Administration on Union Avenue in Altoona.
For the first time, and as his death penalty trial started, defense attorneys admitted that Padilla was the shooter.
Public Defender Donald E. Speice told the jury from Cumberland County, “The evidence clearly shows Mr. Padilla fired the gun eight times.”
Instead of challenging what police said happened that night, the defense showed its plan to save Padilla from the death penalty.
“You can have the will to kill without having the specific intent to kill,” Speice said.
He said the intent to kill is necessary to prove first-degree murder, a prerequisite for the death penalty.
Padilla is charged with killing three Altoona men outside the club, including building owner Alfred Mignogna Jr., 61; club doorman Fredrick Rickabaugh Sr., 59, and patron Stephen Heiss, 28.
Security was tight at the courthouse. Those entering court were searched, rules were handed out and Judge Hiram Carpenter discussed the need for quiet.
The defense doesn’t contend that Padilla, after a night at the Palace strip club and another bar, was “falling down drunk,” but Speice said, “There’s a mental element here.”
That element, combined with events in Padilla’s past and his present mental problems and strife, led to the shootings, Speice said.
Speice said evidence of Padilla’s confusion that night was his failure to remember events.
When he learned police were looking for him, he called 911 and said he “thought” he hurt someone. He then surrendered.
“This case is about a defendant with the will to kill,” Assistant District Attorney Jackie A. Bernard said.
She called Padilla a coward who “ambushed” Mignogna and Rickabaugh and fled on foot.
Bernard said while jurors can’t see inside Padilla’s head, they can see his actions.
An argument began when Mignogna and Rickabaugh refused admission to Padilla, his friend Travis Shumaker and Shumaker’s mother, Shirley.
Padilla obtained a handgun from Shumaker’s car and fired eight shots, striking Rickabaugh four times, Mignogna three times and Heiss once.
“There was no randomness to the shooting,” Bernard said. “He was not shooting into a crowd.”
Two witnesses provided riveting testimony Wednesday.
Mark Hott, 28, arrived at the UVA ahead of Padilla. Hott said when Travis Shumaker arrived, he was asked to remove his hat.
He responded with an obscenity, after which Mignogna and Rickabaugh said, “that was it,” and began pushing Shumaker out of the club.
Hott noticed that Padilla went to a car and came back carrying something.
He then described a horrific scene as three bullets were shot into Rickabaugh’s back. Padilla then fired at Mignogna.
Hott said he escaped into the club, telling people inside to get down.
Altoona Sgt. Joe Cox III arrived to find three people on the ground.
It was pandemonium, Cox said. Some people were screaming. Some were trying to help the victims, some were just milling around.
The trial is expected to last through next week.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
PADILLA TRIPLE MURDER TRIAL
Day 1
Witnesses: Altoona police Sgt. Joe Cox III; Blair County Coroner Patty Ross; pathologist Harry Kamerow; Mark Hott, an eyewitness to the shootings
Developments: Attorneys presented opening arguments
Today: Prosecution will get into the heart of its case, presenting more eyewitnesses such as Hott and Altoona police investigators
http://www.tribune-democrat.com
Published: September 06, 2006 11:42 pm
Lawyer: Suspect pulled trigger
By KATHY MELLOTT
The Tribune-Democrat
HOLLIDAYSBURG — At the opening day of the trial for accused triple murderer Miguel Padilla, the defense agreed with the prosecution: The Gallitzin resident had killed three men.
Defense attorney Donald Speice dropped the bombshell in his opening statement Wednesday.
“Miguel Padilla did indeed do these shootings. It’s not an issue that’s going to be contested by us,” Speice told the jury from Cumberland County. “The evidence clearly shows Mr. Padilla fired the gun eight times and struck the individuals.”
Instead of outright innocence, Speice fashioned a defense that argued Padilla could not form the mental intent prior to the Aug. 28, 2005, shootings, a needed element for a first-degree murder conviction.
Padilla had stopped taking medication for a panic disorder at the time, had been drinking alcohol and did not intend to kill the Altoona residents outside a social club, the attorney said.
“Does it establish murder? Yes,” he said.
“Does it establish murder in the first degree? No.”
And without intent, Padilla would not face the death penalty.
Padilla, 26, a self-employed contractor, is charged with shooting Alfred Mignogna, a retired school teacher and owner of the United Veterans Association, where the murders took place. Police said Padilla also shot club doorman Fred Rickabaugh and Stephen Heiss, a club patron and a Huntingdon prison guard.
In the prosecution’s opening statement, Blair County Assistant District Attorney Jackie Bernard told jurors that Padilla had plenty of time to form intent.
Bernard said Padilla walked from the front of the members-only UVA – where he and friend Travis Shumaker had been denied admission – to a parking lot where he got a handgun out of a car.
The gunman returned to the front of the club and fired, splitting Rickabaugh’s liver, exploding Mignogna’s heart and putting a single shot into Heiss’ chest.
“The defendant did have the will to kill: Within seven minutes, three lives were taken,” Bernard said. “He did it. He did it with malice. He had the will to kill.”
Mark Hott of Altoona, who minutes earlier was denied admission to the private club, testified that Padilla did not seem to be impaired in any way.
He said Padilla’s party was ushered outside from a club foyer after foul language was used, and an argument ensued.
Hott said he watched as Shumaker argued with Mignogna and Rickabaugh.
Hott’s statement to Altoona police referred to Mignogna and Rickabaugh as pushing Shumaker and taking “the argument to another level.”
But Shumaker said at no time did the shouting and pushing involve Padilla.
He watched Padilla go to the car, returning with something small and dark in his hand.
“Then he fired shots in Fred,” Hott said, his right arm mimicking a shooting motion.
Bernard called Padilla a coward, saying he quickly fled the scene. Padilla has told police he blacked out and didn’t know what happened.
Authorities found a gun and a briefcase with Padilla’s identification in a wooded area two blocks from the club.
The emotionally charged trial, which should conclude next week, opened under tight security after death threats were made against Padilla and a member of a victim’s family tried to attack him at his November preliminary hearing.
Padilla is an illegal immigrant and native of Mexico who has been in the Gallitzin-Cresson area since age 9 and graduated from Penn Cambria High School. Judge Hiram A. Carpenter has ordered that information be kept from the jury, claiming it could prejudice the panel.
What garbage! :evil:Quote:
“You can have the will to kill without having the specific intent to kill,” Speice said
Boy, do I wish I was on this jury!
IMO, if you take any weapon and use it on someone, the very fact that you had the weapon on you is demonstrating intent.
Except in self-defense...say, someone breaking into your home, and this example does NOT apply in this case.
Again, IMO. I'm NOT a lawyer. (disclaimer :lol: )
My friend was to testify yesterday, but didnt get the chance. She should be able to get her chance today. I dont believe you will be able to sit in on the trial Jenny, I know they were asking those who were involved for a "head count" of how many people would be coming with them so they could have enough room. If you are able, i think thats great. I would love to hear your perspective on it if you do.
In response to the he did it, but did he intend to do it theory.... he went back to the car and got the gun..... and he shot it. There is your intent to kill. He would have killed my friend too had he not run out of bullets. he wanted no wittnesses. Thats my take on it. Ill be talking to my friend tonight so Ill find out how it goes today and keep you posted on what the news might not be reporting.
There is pretty tight security on the floor of the court room. For my job, I had to hand deliver a document to the custody office (which is just aroudn the corner from the court room)and the second I got onto the floor, I had to answer about 20 questions as to who I was, why I was there, where I was going, etc., etc..
It boggles my mind really.
http://www.tribune-democrat.com
Padilla gun spree detailed
By KATHY MELLOTT
The Tribune-Democrat
HOLLIDAYSBURG— Eyewitnesses to a shooting rampage testified Thursday to their horror and confusion during the triple-murder trial of Miguel Padilla of Cambria County.
Tonya Kline saw the fire blaze from the gun as it was shot.
“I froze for a moment, then I hit the cement. I just turned around and dove,” she testified.
“Al (murder victim Alfred Mignogna) was laying across my legs. I was covered in blood.”
Emotional and often graphic words highlighted the second day of testimony – with the girlfriend of one victim describing how her boyfriend pushed her out of the way and was immediately shot in the chest.
The attorney for Padilla, 26, of Convent Street agrees that his client, an illegal immigrant, shot Mignogna, Fred Rickabaugh and Stephen Heiss to death outside an Altoona club on Aug. 28, 2005.
The strategy of Donald Speice is to claim Padilla was in such a mental state that he could not form the intent to commit first-degree murder – and thereby save Padilla’s life.
Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio contends that Padilla had the time and mental soundness to intend to kill the men, a necessary element in a charge of first-degree murder.
A transcript from a 911 call Padilla made about an hour after the shootings depict a man who claims he is confused with no memory of the incident.
“I know they’re looking for me. I think I may have hurt somebody, but I don’t know what I did,” Padilla told dispatcher Jamie McClellan.
He goes on that he takes medication, believed to be for a panic disorder, but he had been without the drug for a month prior to the murders.
The shootings occurred after an evening of drinking by Padilla drinking and friend Travis Shumaker.
However, police who arrested Padilla a hour after the shootings said he walked backward for a distance of 50 feet and showed no sign of being incapacitated.
The jury also viewed a video from a security camera posted at a discount grocery showing Padilla running from the scene through the back parking lot of the United Veterans Association, where the shooting occurred.
Barbara Zindel, 38, who was attempting to go into the club with Heiss at the time, testified her boyfriend pushed her to the ground before he took a single bullet to the chest.
“I felt Mr. Mignogna fall on the back of my legs,” dying, she testified.
Altoona police officers testified about finding a .45-caliber handgun with laser sighting in a wooded area four blocks from the UVA.
Also found was a briefcase with Padilla’s drivers license, cards for his construction business, insurance information for four of his vehicles including a silver Jaguar with North Carolina plates and registered in his name.
That briefcase also contained $19,000 in cash. However, that information was not presented to the jury following a ruling by Judge Hiram Carpenter, disallowing the evidence.
An estimated five prosecution witnesses remain and the prosecution’s case should wrap up today. The defense may start to present its witnesses before day’s end.
A construction business, 19 thousand dollars, a Jaguar with fictitious NC plates, an expensive handgun with a laser sight, business cards, brief case, and suddenly this guy is diminished capacity due to a mental disorder?
Give me a break.
I'm worried about this trial because this judge is excluding his past history of crimes and
Nothing about this man, who he is, what he has done in the past, and his state of mind should be kept from the jurors.Quote:
Padilla is a Mexican citizen who has been in the United States illegally since age 9. The judge has ordered that information kept from the jury, claiming it could be prejudicial.
This is going too far!
Someone message me next week. This license plate thing is out of hand and we need to deploy our Battle for NC team to distribute this case to NC Lawmakers so we can try to get something done about those plates!
Sounds like Padilla would have had trouble operating illegally in the area in the first place without the help of the NC government.
W
I agree with you W.Quote:
Speice said the attempted hand-washing incident report only recently was given to the defense to prejudice the jury.
Oh, gee. You mean the facts might get in the way?
Maybe the fact that he shot those poor men should be considered prejudicial, also, and that kept from the jury, too. :roll: :roll: :roll: :evil:
This holding back of facts from the jury outrages me. I sat on a jury once. We managed to get to the correct verdict, in spite of the most crucial evidence being held back from us for the same reason. We didn't find out the IMPORTANT info till after the verdict was in.
It's wrong.
I agree with all of this. In his past, he has stuck a gun in someone elses face in a night club, not to mention countless run ins with the law. His medical issues and personal problems at the time of the shooting should not be of concern to anyone. The facts are simple he was violent before this happened and he is still violent now. He intended to kill Freddy, AL and anyone who saw it happen (Steve).
I plan to be in the court room next week with Barb for closing arguements and the vertic.
Keep us informed, AltoidSteph!
We're concerned and appreciate the non-censored info!
Well, unfortunately I can't leave my house anytime soon to even be at work to get any information/observations. Both my kids became really ill last night.
I will add this. I feel the judge (Judge Carpenter) is being as cautious as possible regarding the trial (not that I don't agree that the jury should have any of that information kept from them). But I think I understand his decisions in that he is (I am assuming), doing everything in his power to prevent any problems with the trial itself (appeals, mistrial, etc.). He presided over a pretty high-profile murder case last year which resulted in a mistrial and there was a question for a while over whether the defendant could even be retried (he was claiming double jeopardy--not certain if that was ever resolved). So, what I'm trying to say is that Judge Carpenter is a good man (I have dealt with him on several occasions through my work) and probably has very good and legitimate reasons for making the decisions he has made with the trial (not that I even personally agree with them). I (we) just have to have faith.
Stephen's little namesake (my son) has not afforded me much sleep in the last 24 hours, so this may not make much sense. And for that, I must apologize again!
Hope your kids are ok, JennyC.
Thanks for the insight.
My anger with the courts, is that the truth is NOT told to the juries, AND that telling the truth even COULD be considered prejudicial.
Why, PREJUDICIAL? Because it might give the juries the facts to convict. Garbage. If the person should be convicted, then the things used to excuse crime today should not be.
I have friends in Miami, who worked undercover for 1 solid year of their lives on a really big drug case. Their lives were constantly at risk, their family lives in turmoil. This was on a really major king-pin, who had a 2nd home in our city. His poison was causing havoc...a major spike in crime of all kinds, gang warfare and murders, including children killed in drive-bys. This was cocaine, during the 80's. When the bust went down, 5 different agencies were involved. Each group that handled him, gave him his 'Miranda' rights. Just to be sure. So he got them 5 times.
The judge threw the case out because the defense attorney said that was "intimidation", thus misconduct on the part of the police.
My comment was: "Who paid off the judge?" :evil: :evil:
Curiouspat,
I totally agree with your anger at the courts. Don't you sometimes (well, a lot of the time), wish that due process didn't even exist?
Maybe there should be a movement to change the 14th Amendment to only allow citizens the right to due process.
exactly, JennyC.
the only legitimate argument I can see with them leaving out some of this vital inforamtion is to keep him from getting the death pentalty. If this is his sentace then Mexico can get involved in the appeal process. With the exclusion of his illegal status and most of his previous criminal acts, this leaves the door further open for life in prison with out parol. This way, Mexico perminately keeps there nose where it belongs, out of this case, and Padilla gets what he deserves.
I will keep you posted with what news I get in the following week.
altoid,
Sorry, but IMO Mexico has NO rights in the issue at all. (Yes, I realize that my opinion has NO revelance in today's world).
This criminal jerk, killed Americans on American soil.
I don't know why they have even been allowed a toe in the door. It should have been slammed on them, immediately. :evil:
i feel the same way you do about Mexicos involvement in this case. They never should have even gotten close to this case. Thankfully, all of the channels the prosecution has gone through to keep them out of it have sided with them. Unfortunately, the way the world is today will allow them to get involved if he is sentenced to death.
There are so many things that shouldnt have been, starting with Padilla in this country. Until we can change what is, we are forced to hope for the best outcome in this situation which is to keep Mexico out of it.
altoid,
agreed!
Blah. It just completely sucks, doesn't it? (I can't come up with a more eloquent way of putting it.)Quote:
Originally Posted by AltoidSteph
I have had very positive feelings, though, about the outcome. Well, the guilty verdict is not even an issue. It's the sentencing. Ryan (my boyfriend) and I talked about this at length (and it's been very difficult for him to talk about, as he hasn't dealt with Steve's death at all yet). Ryan, being a corrections officer as well, obviously does not want to see him get the life sentence--as much as he would like for him to "rot" in there for the rest of his life. He had a point in saying that once someone adjusts to prison, they can lead somewhat of a 'normal' existence. I mean, the thought that if sentenced to life, Padilla could go on and get an education completely disgusts me. Oh, and the nightly ice cream he could buy, too. I could go on and on and on. If the prison system didn't afford these monsters so many luxuries, a life sentence wouldn't be so bad as an outcome for the piece of trash that he is.
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/l ... 02914.html
Published: September 09, 2006 12:29 am
State’s experts link Padilla to murder weapon
BY KATHY MELLOTT
The Tribune-Democrat
HOLLIDAYSBURG — A microscopic examination of grime wiped from the hands of Miguel Padilla two hours after the murder of three Altoona men turned up gunpowder residue, experts testified Friday.
The last full day of the prosecution’s case against Padilla, an illegal immigrant who has lived in Cambria County since 1988, tied up some loose ends.
Among them were Padilla’s direct link to the .45-caliber handgun that was the murder weapon and an affirmation that seven of the eight bullets pumped into the victims came from the gun. The eighth bullet was too mutilated to provide a positive match, experts said.
Padilla, 26, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Alfred Mignogna, owner of the private club where the 2005 murders occurred, Fred Rickabaugh and Stephen Heiss.
Friday’s testimony often was technical and tedious as the jury heard from a state police DNA expert, a state police ballistics expert and a ballistics expert from a private laboratory.
Despite the lack of fingerprints on the gun and Padilla’s alleged attempts to wash gunpowder from his hands at the Altoona police headquarters, the experts said sufficient residue was found on the backs of both of his hands to link him to the gun.
The defense will open its case Monday. An expert is expected to support the defense claim that Padilla shot the men while suffering from diminished mental capacity, and therefore could not form the legal intent to kill required for a first-degree murder conviction.
Padilla told police just after the murders that he suffers from panic disorder and had not taken his prescrip-tion, Effexor, an antidepressant, and Klonopin, a narcotic prescribed for panic attacks, for about a month.
“My mind is really blurry. ... This happened to me before,” Padilla said in a statement he made to police and read from the witness stand.
He claims he remembers going to The Palace, an Altoona strip club, with friend Travis Shumaker around 10 p.m.
But he said he does not remember leaving shortly before 2 a.m. or driving to the United Veterans Association, where an argument ensued and Padilla shot the three men.
Public defender Donald Speice late Friday was tight-lipped about his list of witnesses and would not reveal whether he plans to call Padilla to testify in his own defense or bring Shumaker, the instigator of the fight, before the jury.
Speice has admitted that Padilla killed the three men.
His strategy is to avoid a first-degree murder conviction and spare his client the possibility of lethal injection.
Always dressed in a navy or gray suit with a white shirt and dark tie, Padilla, wearing his hair shorter than the ponytail he sported at the time of the shootings, has remained stoned-faced during the trial, which will enter its fourth day Monday.
A slight smile creases his face when humor arises in the crowded courtroom, yet he has little contact with his mother; his girlfriend, Amanda Bianconi; and two or three other people positioned 15 feet behind him.
Courtroom participants line up early to pass through tight security instituted by Blair County Sheriff Larry Field.
Most of the audience of 30 or so are members of the victims’ families, primarily relatives of Mignogna, a retired schoolteacher, and Rickabaugh, the 400-pound bouncer at the club.
Heiss, who was caught in the crossfire, was a guard at State Correctional Institution-Huntingdon.
The Cumberland County jury was taken home after the close of court Friday and will return to Blair County on Sunday evening.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=4650
Saturday, September 09, 2006 — Time: 2:09:54 AM EST
Padilla: I can’t recall the killings
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Altoona detective who arrested Miguel Padilla said the suspect showed no signs of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs or of mental illness.
But in a police statement introduced into Padilla’s triple murder trial Friday, Padilla told Detective Scott Koehle he couldn’t remember the Aug. 28, 2005, United Veterans Association murders and their aftermath.
Padilla, 27, of Gallitzin said the last thing he remembered before waking up at a friend’s house on the 2100 block of Maple Avenue was “last call” at the Palace, an Altoona nightclub.
Testimony this week showed that Padilla, friend Travis Shumaker and Shumaker’s mother, Shirley, left the Palace and went to the UVA.
When the trio was refused admission, an argument erupted between Shumaker and two victims: Alfred Mignogna, 61, building owner, and Fredrick Rickabaugh Sr., 59, the doorman.
While Padilla wasn’t involved in the argument, he appeared in the club’s parking lot carrying a handgun and opened fire, killing Mignogna, Rickabaugh and club patron Stephen Heiss, 28.
About an hour after the killings, Padilla called Blair County’s 911 center and said he thought he might have hurt someone and wanted to surrender to police.
Koehle and other officers immediately went to the Maple Avenue home that belonged to Shumaker’s mother.
In the 29-page statement, Padilla said he took his son to soccer practice Aug. 27 and then transported the child to his brother’s home.
He suggested to Shumaker that they go to the Palace that night because his girlfriend, Amanda Bianconi of Altoona, was camping in the Raystown area.
Padilla and Shumaker went to the Palace, then to another nightclub, the Tin Cup, and then returned to the Palace.
Padilla said the next thing he remembered was the sound of police calling his name and sirens when he awoke in the Shumaker home.
Padilla said he felt he had hurt someone and called 911 because, he said, “I want to be responsible. ...”
“Maybe it was your conscience calling,” Koehle replied to Padilla when the suspect talked about hearing his name called.
Koehle said police didn’t know Padilla’s name until he called the 911 center and identified himself as someone police were looking for.
As the statement continued, Padilla said he had been feeling “shaky” when he woke up in recent mornings.
He said he had been taking Effexor, an anti-depressant, and Klonipin for panic disorders but hadn’t taken his medication for a month.
Padilla said when he suffered panic attacks, he felt like he was having a heart attack and sometimes went to the hospital.
The defense, led by Public Defender Don Speice, does not dispute that Padilla shot the the three men but claims he was unable to form the intent to kill because of the mental stress he was under.
Padilla discussed the stress in his police statement. He said his stepfather was in a recent accident, that Shumaker had wrecked a van used in their construction business and that his best friend, who lived in Scotch Valley, committed suicide within a week of the UVA shootings.
“He exhibited no signs he was a danger to himself, that he was going to take action, that he would harm himself,” Koehle said when asked if Padilla appeared mentally ill.
The prosecution is near the end of its case, and the defense is expected to present its side Monday.
Although the prosecution has not rested, Judge Hiram Carpenter said a defense expert witness would be allowed to testify at 8 a.m. Monday.
Speice would not reveal the name of the expert.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
So, being under stress is license to kill????? Oh, puleeezzzee!Quote:
Padilla discussed the stress in his police statement. He said his stepfather was in a recent accident, that Shumaker had wrecked a van used in their construction business and that his best friend, who lived in Scotch Valley, committed suicide within a week of the UVA shootings.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...tingbanner.gif
I have no sympathy for this jerk!
I feel sorry for the victims and their families and friends. :cry:
Okay, so the panic disorder---ridiculous, yes...but if it was so bad that it contributed to him murdering 3 people, and possibly more, then shouldnt' he be held responsible for not taking his medication for it?
I hope to God this jury isn't full of liberal idiots.
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/l ... 31520.html
Published: September 10, 2006 11:15 pm
Trial notes: Padilla judge wants jurors' perspective
By KATHY MELLOTT
The Tribune-Democrat
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Often, members of the Cumberland County jury hearing evidence in the trial of a Gallitzin man and accused triple murderer are focused not on the defendant or witness stand.
They’re focused on their own laps. Writing.
Just two years ago, a ban on jurors taking notes in civil and criminal cases was lifted. Now, jurors can be seen scribbling away in criminal cases lasting more than two days.
The six-man, six-woman jury hearing the triple homicide case of Miguel Padilla is provided with steno pads and permitted to take notes of the trial, which enters its fourth day today.
The concept is so unusual that Blair Judge Hiram Carpenter wants to hear from the jurors after their duty in Blair County.
“I’d like you to write to me about this afterward,” he said to the jury as the trial opened Wednesday.
Carpenter wants to know whether notes helped in deliberations or hindered because less attention was paid to the demeanor and actions of the witnesses and the defendant.
Ed Blanarik, of State College, a death penalty expert who will defend Padilla in the sentencing phase, if the jury convicts him of first degree murder, said there has been no final decision on note taking in criminal cases.
“Juror note taking is now experimental for criminal cases. It went into effect at the time civil note taking became law,” Blanarik said.
Jury note taking has been permitted in at least one Cambria County criminal case in recent months.
Note taking in criminal cases is an aspect Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio is uncomfortable with, an opinion shared by Padilla defense attorney Donald Speice.
“I really can’t see where it helps,” Consiglio said. “I have a problem with it, because I think the jury gets more from watching the witnesses firsthand.”
Speice agrees.
“I think the problem is they focus on the writing, taking the notes, and they’re not paying attention to what’s going on in the courtroom and witness stand,” he said.
The Padilla jury offers a broad variety of note takers.
One middle-aged woman who is an alternate juror takes copious notes, writing constantly. With the permission of the judge, she goes so far as to copy diagrams and maps entered as evidence.
Some, including three middle-aged men who are part of the 12-member panel, take notes steadily, while others pay little attention to the notebooks that are gathered by court staff before each break and at the end of the day.
An illegal immigrant, Padilla, 26, of Convent Street allegedly gunned down three men outside a private club Aug. 28, 2005.
The defense will begin its case today and the jury could be deliberating on Padilla’s guilt as early as Tuesday.
If the jury decides Padilla was aware of his actions and formed mental intent before the shooting, the case will go to the death penalty phase.
At least the trial appears to be moving along quickly.
http://www.wjactv.com/news/9821469/detail.html
Prosecutors Wrap Up Case Against Padilla
POSTED: 1:51 pm EDT September 11, 2006
UPDATED: 1:56 pm EDT September 11, 2006
Blair County -- The defense began presenting its case in the Miguel Padilla murder trial on Monday after prosecutors rested their case against the illegal immigrant.
A gun shop owner testified that he sold a .45 caliber gun to Travis Shoemaker, a friend of Padilla's.
Authorities confirmed it was the same weapon used in the murders of three men outside of Altoona's UVA Club last year.
The jury could begin its deliberations as early as Tuesday.
Stay with Channel 6 News for continuing coverage.
http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=4736
Lawyers portray Padilla as angry
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG — A psychologist who helped found the Meadows Psychiatric Institute in Centre Hall testified Monday that Miguel A. Padilla of Gallitzin did not have the intent to kill 13 months ago when he shot three Altoona men at the United Veterans Association.
Stephen A. Ragusea, who practices in State College and Key West, Fla., called the shooting an ‘‘impulsive act’’ combined with a elements of self-defense and bad judgment.
‘‘It doesn’t meet the criteria for intent,’’ Ragusea told the jury.
Ragusea was an expert witness for Padilla’s defense. Later in the day, the prosecution called its expert, Gerald Cook, a Philadelphia-area forensic psychologist who has been involved with the evaluations of thousands of suspected criminals.
He said the shootings in the UVA Club parking lot were ‘‘consistent’’ with the intent to kill.
‘‘When I look at all the behaviors here, the idea he [Padilla] was acting to protect a friend or himself was less likely than saying, ‘I’m not going to be pushed around,’’’ Cook testified
Both experts agreed that Padilla, a 27-year-old construction worker, is an angry man.
‘‘He does tend to be an angry person. ... He feels he doesn’t fit in. When problems arise, he blames others. ... He needs to prove his masculinity, be macho, aggressive,’’ Cook said.
Ragusea said his findings in examining Padilla indicated that the suspect is ‘‘angry and bad-tempered.’’
Ragusea said there were other factors in Padilla’s background, such as alcohol and drug abuse — marijuana, cocaine and crystal methamphetamine — that had an impact on his demeanor.
Padilla was under treatment for panic attacks and reported he had been sexually abused by an uncle in Mexico when he was growing up.
The give-and-take from the psychologists were attempts by the defense team, led by Public Defender Donald E. Speice, and the prosecution, headed by District Attorney Richard Consiglio, to provide some explanation of the sudden and violent attack by Padilla about 2 a.m. Aug. 28, 2005, after he, his friend Travis Shumaker and his friend’s mother, Shirley Shumaker, were denied admission to the UVA, a private club.
The rejection led to a verbal argument with UVA Club owner Alfred Mignogna, 61, and doorman Fredrick Rickabaugh Sr., 59.
According to the testimony from several witnesses, Shumaker, one of Padilla’s best friends, was using profanity and refusing to leave the club even though other patrons were telling him to go home.
While Shumaker was engaging in the apparent heated argument, Padilla, according to testimony, walked to the vehicle he drove to the club and returned with a handgun that had been stored under the driver’s seat.
Padilla shot Rickabaugh four times, including twice in the back, and Mignogna three times, with one bullet piercing his heart.
A third man, Stephen M. Heiss, 28, who was waiting with his girlfriend to enter the club, also was fatally shot.
Padilla left the scene on foot. The prosecution contends that Padilla hid the gun and other personal items in a wooded area near Veterans Memorial field and when he was unable to find the key to his Jaguar in front of 2101 Maple Ave., he called police and surrendered.
Padilla said in a statement to police that he didn’t remember the shootings.
Padilla’s brother Oscar, 28, who was baby-sitting Padilla’s son the evening of Aug. 27, told the jurors from Cumberland County that sexual abuse by an uncle had been traumatic for Miguel Padilla and that one night he was called to his family home to calm his brother, who was crying and upset.
Shirley Shumaker, who was at the scene of the shooting, said Mignogna had threatened Travis Shumaker, leading to the defense belief that Miguel Padilla was concerned for his friend.
She and Consiglio got into a shouting match in the Blair County courtroom. Consiglio noticed Shirley Shumaker was smiling while on the witness stand. He confronted her, asking what she thought was funny.
She said she was smiling because she blew a kiss toward Miguel, who had returned a smile.
Consiglio angrily concluded his cross examination.
Both sides are expected to give their closing arguments to the jury this morning. The case should go to the jury by early afternoon.
If the jury concludes that Padilla had intent to kill and finds him guilty of first-degree murder, a death penalty hearing will be held after the jury finishes deliberations.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
Enough!Quote:
walked to the vehicle he drove to the club and returned with a handgun that had been stored under the driver’s seat.
He could have gotten in the car and driven away.
Angry, Drunk, off his meds, depressed...... none of that constitutes killing anyone, otherwise a lot of us would have killed hundreds before lunch time.