Thread: Man (illegal) charged with killing three at after-hours club

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



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.

“You can have the will to kill without having the specific intent to kill,” Speice said

What garbage!

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 )

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

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.

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.

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

Speice said the attempted hand-washing incident report only recently was given to the defense to prejudice the jury.

I agree with you W.

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.

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.