By Tyler Treadway
Friday, April 4, 2008
WEST PALM BEACH — A defense attorney for a man charged in the October 2006 murders of a family along Florida's Turnpike in Port St. Lucie has filed a motion seeking release of a 911 tape recording he said could exonerate his client.
Jose Escobedo, his wife, Yessica, and two young children were shot to death in the predawn hours of Oct. 13, 2006. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Ricardo Sanchez Jr., 24, and Daniel Troya, 24, for the murders.
Donnie Murrell, a West Palm Beach attorney representing Sanchez, said Friday a tape held by the Florida Highway Patrol reportedly includes sounds from the Escobedo shooting, including gunfire and pleading voices; and it was made minutes after Sanchez and Troya were leaving the turnpike in West Palm Beach about 50 miles from the shooting scene.
"For 18 months the government has told us that fingerprints on a toll ticket stamped at 3:02 a.m. showed that (Sanchez) got off the turnpike at Okeechobee Boulevard after the murder," Murrell said, adding that the 911 recording reportedly was made at 3:10 a.m.
"That's eight minutes after (Sanchez) went through the toll booth," Murrell said. "It presents a huge problem for the government's theory of how this all happened. Ain't no way on God's green Earth he could have been at that homicide."
Murrell said rules of evidence requires prosecutors to share all their evidence with defense attorneys.
"I've got to be able to get my hands on (the tape)," Murrell said, "because I have to be able to prove that is what we think it is."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Carlton, the lead prosecutor in the case, did not reply to a voice mail left at this West Palm Beach office or an e-mail.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has said Escobedo was the head of a large drug ring, and Sanchez and Troya "killed their leader." Prosecutors have said they also believe the killings were drug-related.
The trial for Sanchez and Troya is scheduled to begin Jan. 5 and is expected to take two to three months. The U.S. attorney general has authorized seeking the death penalty against Sanchez and Troya.
If convicted, the men face execution on five charges — one each of armed carjacking resulting in death and four each of using a firearm in a violent crime leading to death in the killings.
"The defense has now learned of the existence of a 911 tape recording of the murders ... which was recorded at 3:10:59 on October 13, 2006, by the Florida Highway Patrol. On information and belief, this tape is an actual recording of the events as they happened. According to witnesses who have heard the tape, it includes the voices of children and the sound of gunshots.
"The government, though "fully cognizant of its on-going responsibilities to provide information to the defense ... has refused to allow the defense to hear, copy or otherwise inspect the 911 tape.
"This 911 tape is clearly exculpatory when considered in conjunction with other evidence developed by the government, most notably a turnpike toll ticket. The government has a toll ticket bearing the latent (finger)prints of defendant Sanchez. That ticket was collected at the Okeechobee turnpike exit at 3:02 a.m. on October 13, 2006. It is fifty miles from the scene of the crime to the Okeechobee turnpike exit. Clearly it is physically impossible for defendant Sanchez to have exited the turnpike at Okeechobee Boulevard at 3:02 a.m. and get to the scene of the homicide, 50 miles away, in less than eight minutes."
Friday, April 4, 2008
WEST PALM BEACH — A defense attorney for a man charged in the October 2006 murders of a family along Florida's Turnpike in Port St. Lucie has filed a motion seeking release of a 911 tape recording he said could exonerate his client.
Jose Escobedo, his wife, Yessica, and two young children were shot to death in the predawn hours of Oct. 13, 2006. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Ricardo Sanchez Jr., 24, and Daniel Troya, 24, for the murders.
Donnie Murrell, a West Palm Beach attorney representing Sanchez, said Friday a tape held by the Florida Highway Patrol reportedly includes sounds from the Escobedo shooting, including gunfire and pleading voices; and it was made minutes after Sanchez and Troya were leaving the turnpike in West Palm Beach about 50 miles from the shooting scene.
"For 18 months the government has told us that fingerprints on a toll ticket stamped at 3:02 a.m. showed that (Sanchez) got off the turnpike at Okeechobee Boulevard after the murder," Murrell said, adding that the 911 recording reportedly was made at 3:10 a.m.
"That's eight minutes after (Sanchez) went through the toll booth," Murrell said. "It presents a huge problem for the government's theory of how this all happened. Ain't no way on God's green Earth he could have been at that homicide."
Murrell said rules of evidence requires prosecutors to share all their evidence with defense attorneys.
"I've got to be able to get my hands on (the tape)," Murrell said, "because I have to be able to prove that is what we think it is."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Carlton, the lead prosecutor in the case, did not reply to a voice mail left at this West Palm Beach office or an e-mail.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has said Escobedo was the head of a large drug ring, and Sanchez and Troya "killed their leader." Prosecutors have said they also believe the killings were drug-related.
The trial for Sanchez and Troya is scheduled to begin Jan. 5 and is expected to take two to three months. The U.S. attorney general has authorized seeking the death penalty against Sanchez and Troya.
If convicted, the men face execution on five charges — one each of armed carjacking resulting in death and four each of using a firearm in a violent crime leading to death in the killings.
"The defense has now learned of the existence of a 911 tape recording of the murders ... which was recorded at 3:10:59 on October 13, 2006, by the Florida Highway Patrol. On information and belief, this tape is an actual recording of the events as they happened. According to witnesses who have heard the tape, it includes the voices of children and the sound of gunshots.
"The government, though "fully cognizant of its on-going responsibilities to provide information to the defense ... has refused to allow the defense to hear, copy or otherwise inspect the 911 tape.
"This 911 tape is clearly exculpatory when considered in conjunction with other evidence developed by the government, most notably a turnpike toll ticket. The government has a toll ticket bearing the latent (finger)prints of defendant Sanchez. That ticket was collected at the Okeechobee turnpike exit at 3:02 a.m. on October 13, 2006. It is fifty miles from the scene of the crime to the Okeechobee turnpike exit. Clearly it is physically impossible for defendant Sanchez to have exited the turnpike at Okeechobee Boulevard at 3:02 a.m. and get to the scene of the homicide, 50 miles away, in less than eight minutes."
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