BISBEE — Attorneys prosecuting U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett’s murder case are asking a federal judge in Tucson for permission to introduce at the next trial evidence of three unprovoked violent acts allegedly committed by the defendant.
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Corbett is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide for fatally shooting Francisco Dominguez-Rivera, a Mexican who had illegally entered the United States near Naco last year.
Corbett claims he acted out of self-defense when he shot Dominguez-Rivera.
Prosecutors claim the shooting was not justified.
In a motion filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Tyrone Mitchell, one of the prosecutors in the case, states that Corbett was arrested on charges of assault and physical property damage in November 2003 in Cheltenham, Pa., he assaulted a victim in April 2007 in Chandler, and he threatened and assaulted victims in Mesa in March 2007.
According to records, the Pennsylvania case was dropped, and Corbett never faced charges in the 2007 complaints.
The prosecution, however, will try to use the old information in the new trial.
“Evidence, in the form of testimony, police and incident reports, will rebut the defendant’s claim of self-defense and establish that the defendant was the aggressor. This evidence is also admissible to demonstrate defendant’s motive, intent, knowledge, and/or absence of mistake,” states the motion.
In an e-mail to Wick News Service on Monday, Sean Chapman, Corbett’s lead defense attorney, declined to make any comments on these incidents, other than to say, “I will file a responsive pleading that will state our position.”
According to Mitchell’s motion, in the November 2003 case in Cheltenham, Pa., Corbett went to his neighbor’s house and damaged his property. When the neighbor confronted him, Corbett physically assaulted him. In the March 2007 case in Mesa, Corbett grabbed his girlfriend’s head, took off her glasses and spit in her ear. In April 2007 in Chandler, Corbett reportedly threatened a family and punched his girlfriend in the stomach.
In the murder case, Judge David Bury declared a mistrial in early March because the jury was deadlocked at the conclusion of a two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Tucson. A new trial is scheduled to start Sept. 9 there. The defense recently filed a change of venue motion seeking to move the trial to federal court in Phoenix due to extensive media coverage.
Mitchell filed a response Monday, stating that while the state does not directly oppose the motion, it asks the court to conduct an extensive investigation to determine whether a fair and impartial jury may be found within the Tucson venue.
“In the instant case, the state of Arizona cannot support or oppose defendant’s motion for change of venue because there has been no clear determination of actual or presumed prejudice such that defendant would be deprived of a fair trial,” the motion states.
“The state of Arizona ultimately supports justice for all parties, and requests that this court utilize a jury questionnaire along with any other methods necessary to ensure that both parties to this action are provided a fair and impartial trial,” it continues.
Comments
DLC wrote on Jul 18, 2008 2:11 PM:
Disagrees wrote on Jul 17, 2008 6:39 PM:
In my book evidence relates directly to the actions taken.
This is just information that comes from a routine background check.
If that is the best that the private investigator, that we are paying, can come up with WE deserve a rebate. "