Miami Herald, The (FL)-October 18, 1996
Author: MANNY GARCIA Herald Staff Writer
After some early shouting, jurors settled down Thursday but failed to reach a verdict in the case of Hiram Horta, a former Air Force officer accused of driving the getaway car during a home-invasion murder.
Dade Circuit Judge Rodolfo Sorondo Jr. declared a mistrial after jurors sent him several notes over two days, indicating that they could not reach a unanimous verdict. The final vote: 7-5 for acquittal.
"Not guilty,"' juror Patrick Jean said. "The state witnesses were not believable."
Jury foreman Adam Petrillo, who voted to convict, had a different view of the prosecution witnesses: "They're despicable people, but their testimony was consistent."
Prosecutor Flora Seff was disappointed by the hung jury: 'It's very aggravating. . . . These cases are not TV, where the evidence and the witnesses are perfect.''
The case against Horta heavily relied on the testimony of Geannie Sosa and Lazaro
Coronel, two convicted killers and career criminals, who admitted at trial that they had spent most of their lives lying.
Prosecutors alleged Horta drove a getaway car while Coronel and Sosa entered a Miami home to steal cocaine on Feb. 20, 1991. Coronel, however, botched the ripoff when he accidentally shot himself and the homeowner, drug dealer Bernardo Zaragosa, who survived.
Coronel, on command from Sosa, then shot Maria Iraheta, Zaragosa's sister-in-law, who died. She was an innocent victim, police said.
At trial, defense lawyers Jose Quinon and H. Scott Fingerhut portrayed Coronel and Sosa as untrustworthy "slime."
But several jurors who supported a conviction agreed that the co-defendants were consistent on one point: Both testified that Horta helped plot the crime and later drove the getaway car.
Another stumbling block for Horta: Jurors said Quinon failed to explain how his client's fingerprint ended up on the UPS box that Coronel used to sneak into the house. Coronel, dressed like a UPS driver, pretended to be making a delivery to get Iraheta to open the front door.
"The fingerprint was hard to explain," Petrillo said.
Quinon told jurors during opening statements that his client had gone to stay at the home of Orlando Pino-Roque, an old school chum and the alleged mastermind of the home invasion.
Quinon said the UPS box belonged to Pino-Roque and his client may have inadvertently touched it during his stay. Quinon never put on evidence to support that theory because his client did not testify.
Quinon said he decided not to call his client to the stand because he felt that Sosa and
Coronel had undermined the state's case.
Prosecutors Seff and Percy Martinez now have 90 days to retry Horta, who remains jailed.
Afterward, jurors discussed their differences with prosecutors and Quinon in the fourth floor hallway. Within minutes, Seff and Quinon began arguing about Horta's alleged prior crimes.
"He's done other home invasions," Seff said.
"He's never been charged," Quinon said.
"Look," prosecutor Martinez said. "They're retrying the case."
Weary jurors started laughing.
photo: Hiram Horta (a)
Edition: Final
Section: Local
Page: 2B
Record Number: 9610190090
Copyright (c) 1996 The Miami Herald
http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/NewsBank/0EB4D5B0372E0E49/0F01011B0D7111CF
