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  1. #191
    AltoidSteph's Avatar
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    Unfortunately, if he is given the death pentalty, no one in this life time will see him die. He will sit on Death row secluded from everyone with the same benefits as every other prisoner, plus he has the luxury of Mexico fighting to get him off. Also, there is the extra cost to the state to supply the manpower to tend to him on death row. No, I want to see life in prison. Put him in general population and let him spend whatever time he would have left thinking about what he did. His own execution, in my opinion, will come soon enough.

  2. #192
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=4756

    Wednesday, September 13, 2006 — Time: 11:36:40 AM EST

    Courtroom erupts into applause as Padilla's guilty verdict read

    By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com


    HOLLIDAYSBURG — Miguel Padilla was calm during his week-long trial until Tuesday when a jury found him guilty on three counts of first degree murder.

    His eyes filled with tears, his face reddened and he fought to control his emotions.

    The jury’s verdicts mean that Padilla, 27, of Gallitzin could as early as today receive the death penalty for killing three Altoona men last year.

    Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio will ask jurors to impose the death penalty. Jurors for the first time will learn that Padilla is an illegal alien from Mexico and therefore not permitted to carry a gun.

    Prosecutors also will present impact statements from the families of each of the three victims.

    The jury returned its verdicts after deliberating two hours. Family members and friends applauded, breaking the silence and drowning out the tears of Padilla’s girlfriend who sat next to Padilla’s mother.

    Judge Carpenter was furious.

    “That is inappropriate. Anything more like that and you will be off to jail,” Carpenter said.

    The judge said while the jury was not in the courtroom it was still on the floor, and he said the spectators through their applause were jeopardizing the trial.

    Carpenter ordered sheriff’s deputies to take the names of four spectators who he saw applauding. Carpenter ordered the four be escorted from the courtroom and said those family members aren’t allowed at today’s hearing.

    Bill Bouse, an uncle of shooting victim Stephen Heiss, was among those told to leave.

    “I didn’t think it was right,” he said of the judge’s decision.

    He said he didn’t start the clapping and that he applauded because everyone else was doing the same.

    As Carpenter left the courthouse about 90 minutes after the verdict, he said he accepted the apologies of those who had applauded but still wasn’t letting them in the courtroom today.

    The applause was unexpected and shocked Padilla. He turned to those applauding and forced a smile, then raised his cuffed hands and clapped in return.

    As the furor died down, the impact of the three first degree verdicts seemed to bring some solace to the more than 50 onlookers who filled the courtroom.

    Randy Heiss, 36, said, “I’m just happy with the verdict. Justice has been served. My brother can rest in peace now.”

    He said the Padilla conviction “helps set our minds at ease.”

    Stephen Heiss was an officer at the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon, a job he got after a stint in the Marines.

    “He had a growing career, going forward, then this happened,” he said.

    The applause he said was “everybody just expressing their emotions.”

    “Justice was done. It [the conviction] won’t bring my husband back,” said Janet Rickabaugh, wife of victim Fredrick Rickabaugh Sr.

    She smiled and said Monday would have been her 41st wedding anniversary.

    She was asked if the healing process has begun.

    “It will never be over, never,” she said.

    Fred Rickabaugh Jr., who comforted his mother, did not want to comment on today’s death penalty phase, but he complimented how prosecutors handled the case.

    Al Mignogna Jr. was pleased with the verdict but did not want to comment as he fought back tears while leaving the courthouse.

    Verdict follows short closing arguments

    Padilla was charged with killing Alfred Mignogna, who owned the UVA building; Fredrick Rickabaugh Sr., the doorman; and Stephen Heiss, 28, a patron.

    The shootings occurred after Padilla, his friend Travis Shumaker, and Shumaker’s mother, were refused admission to the after-hours club early Aug. 28, 2005.

    Witnesses said Padilla went to the car he took to the club and obtained a .45-caliber handgun.

    Witnesses said Padilla first shot Rickabaugh four times and then turned the gun toward Mignogna, who was arguing with Shumaker. He shot Mignogna three times. One of the bullets killed Heiss.

    Padilla left the area but called police an hour later, contending he thought he hurt somebody but didn’t remember shooting anyone.

    Public Defender Don Speice argued that Padilla was unable to form the intent to kill that night, a prerequisite for first-degree murder.

    “The most crucial thing as to intent, there was no evidence he tried to get out of town. He called police and said, ‘I’m scared. Come and get me,’ ” Speice said.

    District Attorney Richard Consiglio said, “Three people are dead because he is a violent person. He has a macho personality.”

    Padilla, he said, was angry that he couldn’t get into the UVA.

    The six-man, six-woman jury was from Cumberland County. Pre-trial publicity led Carpenter to order selection of the jury from outside Blair County.

    The defense has given an inkling of what it will say today to try and spare Padilla’s life.

    Padilla was raised by an abusive father. He was sexually molested by an uncle and suffered from mental problems, all situations that were brought out during the trial.

    Defense attorney Ed Blanarik of Centre County, court-appointed to represent Padilla during the penalty phase, is expected to present these mitigating circumstances.

    Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.



    Video available at article link.
    http://www.wjactv.com/news/9840004/detail.html

    Sentencing Phase Underway In Padilla Trial

    POSTED: 12:36 pm EDT September 13, 2006
    UPDATED: 1:58 pm EDT September 13, 2006


    One day after convicting him of first-degree murder, a jury heard arguments on why Miguel Padilla should or should not live.

    Wednesday, the sentencing phase of the triple-murder trial was underway in Blair County.

    Padilla, an illegal immigrant, was found guilty Tuesday of shooting and killing three men outside of an Altoona club last summer.

    Padilla's mother took the stand and testified that her son's best friend killed himself the week of the shootings.

    Stay with Channel 6 News for continuing coverage.
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  3. #193
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    http://www.tribune-democrat.com/homepag ... cturestory

    Published: September 14, 2006 12:00 am

    Sentencing deliberations to start today for Padilla

    By KATHY MELLOTT
    The Tribune-Democrat

    HOLLIDAYSBURG — Convicted murderer Miguel Padilla was portrayed alternately Wednesday as a wonderful family man – and as an ogre who selfishly wrested away the dreams of three families.

    With jurors poised to decide today whether Padilla lives or dies, both the prosecution and defense offered testimony to convince the jury of the right of their side.

    Padilla was convicted Tuesday of the savage, cold-blooded murders of three men outside an Altoona after-hours club when he was denied admission. The Aug. 28, 2005, shootings claimed the lives of Alfred Mignogna, Fred Rickabaugh and Stephen Heiss.

    The six-man, six-woman jury bused in from Cumberland County heard a full day of testimony presented by defense attorney Ed Blanarik, death penalty expert of State College, and family members of the deceased.

    Compelling testimony was given by Matt Rickabaugh, the 18-year-old grandson of Fred Rickabaugh, who spent his early years at his grandfather’s home.

    “The thought of never having him around terrifies me,” the recent Altoona Area High School graduate said. “Since he left, I’ve felt empty inside. I still don’t know how to deal with my feelings.”

    Such words brought many jurors to tears.

    Blanarik and the prosecution led by Blair County District Attorney Rich Consiglio will present their final statements to the jury beginning at 8 a.m. today.

    The jury is expected to begin their sentencing deliberations by noon, deciding whether Padilla will receive life in prison without parole or capital punishment.

    Padilla family members including his mother, Maria Brauns, and two brothers spoke at length about Miguel’s strong work ethic as a plasterer and carpenter, and the tight bond he has with two of three children.

    Testifying for the defense Wednesday, Marc Tabackman, a psychologist from Towson, Md., said his examination of Padilla showed the 26-year-old suffers not from panic attacks – as earlier doctors testified at trial – but from post-traumatic stress disorder.

    It was brought on, Tabackman said, by early sexual abuse by an uncle while the Padilla family lived in Mexico. It was compounded by an abusive alcoholic father, he said.

    Fueled by frequent use of cocaine, crystal meth and alcohol, Tabackman said, Padilla thought his welfare and that of a friend were being threatened when an argument broke out in front of the Altoona club.

    Consiglio wouldn’t buy it.

    He questioned Tabackman at length about earlier testimony that Padilla had four or five drinks in a four-hour period the day of the killings, and said there is no proof he had used any illegal drugs that day.

    Sandra Miller, mother of Heiss, said she lost a part of herself when her son was gunned down. More importantly, she said, her son “was cheated out of life.”

    Barbara Mignogna, wife of the third victim, said she is left with no hopes and unfilled dreams. She said the greatest feeling of loss comes when she looks at her seven grandchildren.

    Dana Thompson, one of Mignogna’s four children, called her dad unselfish. “He was the Pied Piper, the leader, the spark at every event,” she said from the witness stand.
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  4. #194
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centreda ... 513573.htm

    Posted on Thu, Sep. 14, 2006

    Jury weighs death penalty in triple shooting at Altoona club
    Associated Press
    HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. - Closing arguments were expected Thursday before a jury begins deliberations on whether a construction worker convicted of killing three men outside a club deserves the death penalty.

    If the panel does not unanimously vote for the execution of Miguel Padilla, 27, of Gallitzin, he will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

    Jurors heard testimony Wednesday from Padilla's family that he was a good worker and doting father, while the victims' relatives described the pain of losing loved ones because of his actions.

    A psychologist testifying for the defense said Padilla has post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from abuse he suffered as a child in his native Mexico. Prosecutors, however, attributed Padilla's actions to rash and violent machismo.

    Jurors deliberated for only two hours on Tuesday before convicting Padilla of three counts of first-degree murder in the shootings outside the United Veterans Association Club in Altoona on Aug. 28, 2005.

    Authorities said that after a friend was denied admission to the club, Padilla went to his vehicle, got a gun, and opened fire when he returned, killing doorman Fredrick Rickabaugh Sr., 59; club owner Alfred Mignogna, 61; and patron Stephen M. Heiss, 28.

    The jury in the case was chosen in Cumberland County and bused to Blair County, where a judge had ruled that extensive publicity had made it impossible to find an impartial jury.
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  5. #195
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    http://www.altoonamirror.com/News/artic ... cleID=4777

    Thursday, September 14, 2006 — Time: 2:34:08 AM EST

    Families say killings a ‘terrible tragedy you will never forget’

    By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com


    HOLLIDAYSBURG — The tears wouldn’t stop in the homicide trial of Miguel A. Padilla Wednesday as the families of the three Altoona men he shot to death shared their stories with the jury.

    “Just when I think I have no more tears left to cry, they somehow find their way down my face and you wonder why ... why? I seem to say that all the time,” said Teresa L. Rickabaugh, the daughter of Fredrick Rickabaugh Sr., 59, who died in the shooting.

    Bill Boese, uncle of another victim, Stephen Heiss, 28, called the murders a “terrible tragedy you will never forget.”

    Dana M. Thompson said of her father, Alfred Mignogna, 61, “I was so blessed to have my father for almost 40 years. I am livid and outraged because [his grandchildren] were robbed of time spent with such a phenomenal person.”

    The families and jurors were not the only people crying.

    When court adjourned for the day, Padilla’s mother, Maria Brauns of Gallitzin, approached the families outside the courtroom.

    Standing with her son Christian, 22, she apologized for the deaths and pointed how how the tragedy also affected her family.

    Fred Rickabaugh Jr. listened and comforted Maria Brauns. He said it was thoughtful of her to express her sympathies.

    In commenting after the unexpected meeting of families, he said Brauns is going through the same trauma as the victims’ families, but he said she will be able to visit her son in prison.

    The statements from family members came after Padilla’s attorney, Ed Blanarik of Centre County, attempted to show that the 27-year-old construction worker was not in possession of his mental facilities when he went to the UVA with friends Aug. 28, 2005. He began shooting after his group was denied admission to the after-hours club.

    Padilla’s father was a violent alcoholic who abused Maria Brauns, forcing her in 1989 to flee Calima, Mexico, with two of her four boys.

    In Los Angeles, while working as a waitress, she met

    Tim Brauns, a disabled Vietnam veteran who eventually brought her and her family to Gallitzin.

    Her California neighborhoods were gang infested, and she related how Miguel and his older brother, Oscar, were mugged and robbed one day.

    She said Miguel abused alcohol and drugs and he revealed weeks before the shootings that he was sexually abused by her brother when he was six.

    Psychologist Marc Tabackman of Towson, Md., said these traumas and Padilla’s use of drugs and alcohol in 2005 came to a head when Padilla saw his friend, Travis Shumaker, arguing with Mignogna, who owned the UVA building, and Rickabaugh, the doorman.

    In what Tabackman called “a flashback of accumulated traumas,” Padilla perceived the confrontation as threatening and opened fire.

    Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio insisted in his questioning of Tabackman that Padilla simply was “a bad tempered, bad person,” who struck out in a macho manner at the situation.

    The jury Tuesday found Padilla guilty on three counts for first-degree murder.

    The six-man, six-woman jury will decide today if Padilla will be sentenced to death or serve life in prison.

    Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
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  6. #196
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AltoidSteph
    Unfortunately, if he is given the death pentalty, no one in this life time will see him die. He will sit on Death row secluded from everyone with the same benefits as every other prisoner, plus he has the luxury of Mexico fighting to get him off. Also, there is the extra cost to the state to supply the manpower to tend to him on death row. No, I want to see life in prison. Put him in general population and let him spend whatever time he would have left thinking about what he did. His own execution, in my opinion, will come soon enough.
    Sadly I agree the death penalty is becoming sort of a joke because of how long it takes to put someone to death. Seems the length of time keeps getting longer and longer before an execution takes place. I believe it is taking about 20 plus years now in most states. In my opinion they should give 5 years at the most for an appeal process and be done with it.
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  7. #197
    Senior Member curiouspat's Avatar
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    give 5 years at the most for an appeal process and be done with it.
    I agree.
    TIME'S UP!
    **********
    Why should <u>only</u> AMERICAN CITIZENS and LEGAL immigrants, have to obey the law?!

  8. #198
    AltoidSteph's Avatar
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    I completely agree.

  9. #199
    jennyc's Avatar
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    The jury was just let out to decide a little bit ago.

  10. #200
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Let us know what happens since you will probably hear the jury's decision first.
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