Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008

Judge to rule on evidence in 1987 Pasco murder case

By Kristin M. Kraemer, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- A Superior Court judge will decide today if all items seized from three Pasco apartments and a Maxda RX7 after the 1987 body shop massacre were authorized under search warrants.

Lawyers for Vicente Ruiz want the evidence suppressed, saying the warrants contained a "catch-all phrase" that was too broad or general.

When detectives searched nearly 21 years ago the current and former Ninth Avenue apartments Ruiz shared with his brother, along with a Gum Street apartment and the car, they were told to look for "any evidence of the crime of murder," said defense attorney Bob Thompson.

That opened the door for officers, he said, noting that items of interest listed on the search warrant affidavit are not the same as those on the evidence list.

"We have grave concerns about the ability of law enforcement to only seize items the court gave authority for," Thompson said Wednesday.

Deputy Prosecutor Frank Jenny argued there "was probable cause to believe that evidence would be found in the apartments."

He added there was no evidence that items were improperly taken, saying detectives "must conduct a search to complete a thorough investigation."

The no-knock warrants were approved by then-judges Duane Taber and Pete Felsted after five young men were fatally shot in Medina's Body Shop in October 1987.

The lone survivor, who was hit by a bullet in the stomach, identified Ruiz as one of the shooters. He gave police one of Ruiz's aliases, Vicente Mendez.

However, Ruiz's attorneys claim it was a case of mistaken identity, even pointing the finger at his brother who reportedly looked so alike they could be twins.

Wednesday, attorney Kevin Holt said the defense has "a strong belief that (survivor Aldo Montes-Lamas) may be a shooter in this case, not a victim." He suggested that Montes-Lamas' gunshot wound was actually caused when his own bullet ricocheted, and told the court they want to be able to explore that theory at trial.

Ruiz, 43, is charged in Franklin County Superior Court with five counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

His trial starts Tuesday with jury selection. The first witnesses should be called Sept. 8.

Ruiz's cousin, Pedro Mendez-Reyna, is serving a life sentence without parole for his role as a shooter in the slayings.

Also Wednesday, Judge Cameron Mitchell denied a defense request to ban the news media from taking any pictures or video footage of Ruiz during the course of the trial.

Holt had said that even though his client's face has been in the news for 14 months since his extradition, broadcasting Ruiz's image during the trial could influence witnesses who will be asked if he was the person they saw in 1987.

The Herald objected to the request, with Seattle lawyer Michelle Earl-Hubbard appearing via telephone to argue that "open access is presumed" in the courtroom for media, according to a Washington court rule.

She also noted that even though Holt was asking that media be restricted from showing any pictures or video of Ruiz while in trial -- including file footage -- the court did not have that authority.

Mitchell agreed, saying "numerous images have been disseminated at this point" and witnesses asked to identify Ruiz in court will already have the opportunity of seeing him at the defense table.

However, Mitchell ordered that in all future hearings Ruiz be dressed in street clothes instead of jail attire. He also asked the media to avoid taking pictures of him in restraints, like handcuffs.

As for the issue of witnesses being photographed or videotaped, Mitchell refused to order a blanket restriction. He said if a particular witness has a safety concern, that can be addressed before they take the stand in a hearing without the jury.