Miami Herald, The (FL)-June 15, 1983
Author: AL MESSERSCHMIDT Herald Staff Writer
Metro-Dade Police Officer Ernest Urtiaga's eyes filled with tears. He hugged Jose Quinon, his attorney. Quinon pounded Urtiaga on the back.
"It's finally over," said Urtiaga. "The nightmare is over."
Six jurors who listened to four days of testimony and argument acquitted the 26-year-old policeman Tuesday of manslaughter in the shotgun killing of truck hijacker Anthony Nelson during an arrest last year in a Miami used-car lot.
"The community has spoken and he's not guilty," said Quinon. "And we're just glad that's the way it turned out. This man never should have been indicted in the first place."
But Hattie Crews, the slain man's mother, expressed dismay at the verdict: "I think there was enough evidence to convict him. The witnesses weren't so strong, but the evidence was there. I thought from the beginning there wouldn't be any justice."
Crews disputed Urtiaga's account that he fired when Nelson was reaching around for the policeman's shotgun, saying her son "would've been shot in the stomach, not in the back." And she criticized the jury selection, noting the six jurors included five Latins and no blacks.
Urtiaga, a patrolman for nearly seven years, was one of four Dade police officers indicted on manslaughter charges in unrelated cases by the spring-term county Grand Jury. Metro Detective Thomas Pellechio was acquitted May 26 of killing a county corrections officer during a traffic stop last fall. Metro Officer Robert Koenig and Miami Officer Luis Alvarez are still awaiting their trials.
Urtiaga, who was suspended without pay following his indictment in January, will automatically be reinstated and can petition to recover nearly six months' back pay, said a Metro police spokesman.
The six jurors -- an architect, a Metro computer specialist, two hospital employees, a religious service employee and a schoolteacher -- reached the verdict at 1:18 p.m., after nearly four hours of deliberation.
Jury foreman Daniel Perez-Zarraga, an architect, handed the verdict to Circuit Judge Gerald Kogan's court clerk, who read: "Case number 83-2047. The state of Florida versus Ernest Urtiaga. We the jury ... find the defendant, Ernest Urtiaga, not guilty."
Urtiaga took a deep breath and grabbed Quinon. The jurors filed from the courtroom, without expression, clutching certificates of appreciation signed by Kogan.
When the deliberations began at 9:11 a.m., foreman Zarraga asked the judge for a transcript of the entire trial. Kogan told the jurors to rely on their recollections of the testimony.
Two hours later, the jurors sent the judge a list of five questions printed in neat, architectural block type.
They asked: Define reasonable doubt. What is manslaughter? What is the prosecutor's burden of proof? Who determines if the officer is in fear of his life? What is negligence?
To convict Urtiaga, the judge said, prosecutors must show that Nelson's death was caused by the "culpable negligence" of Urtiaga. "Culpable negligence is more than a failure to use ordinary care. It must be gross and flagrant ...and in utter disregard for the safety of others."
Police officers "need not retreat" when making an arrest, Kogan said. Urtiaga was "justified in using any force that he reasonably believed was necessary to defend himself ... to prevent escape ... when making an arrest."
"Reasonable doubt," the judge said, can come from evidence, lack of evidence or conflicts in evidence.
The case against Urtiaga was built around conflicting testimony.
According to the charges, Nelson and his lifelong friend, Danny Williams, hijacked a grocery supply firm delivery truck on Oct. 20, 1982. The driver and a co-worker followed Nelson and Williams to a used-car lot at 3575 NW 36th Ave., then waved down Urtiaga and his partner, Jose Trigo.
Nelson and Williams were walking across the used-car lot, away from the truck, when the officers left their squad car.
Urtiaga carried a Remington shotgun. Trigo carried his pistol.
Trigo ordered Williams to halt and place his hands on a car near the hijacked truck. Urtiaga confronted Nelson.
Three eyewitnesses provided ever-changing testimony about the shooting. Williams, who served 68 days in jail for hijacking the truck, told homicide investigators that Nelson may have moved and may have bumped the shotgun. Testifying as a court's witness, Williams denied the statement.
Dorthea Wilson, who testified before the Dade Grand Jury, told investigators that Nelson didn't move before he was shot. She later admitted she lied. She did not testify at the trial.
Eduardo Calderon, who operates the used-car lot, told homicide detectives he didn't see the shooting. But during the trial, Calderon testified that Nelson did not move.
He also denied he planned to purchase the truckload of stolen fish and meat. Calderon said Williams and Nelson were looking for a used car when they drove the hijacked truck into the car lot.
Homicide investigators concluded the shooting was accidental. Then they questioned Urtiaga.
In a sworn statement, and later in dramatic courtroom testimony, Urtiaga said Nelson was moving for the shotgun.
"There was no doubt in my mind that he was turning around and he was going to grab my shotgun," Urtiaga said.
Prosecutor Sam Rabin said that if the shooting was an accident, Urtiaga was negligent. Attempting to frisk Nelson while holding a loaded shotgun with one hand "showed utter disregard" for Nelson's life, he said.
The jurors refused to discuss the verdict. "We just don't feel like talking," said Kathryn Brown, a teacher. "It wouldn't be in the best interest," said Zarraga. "There were many reasons. It was a very difficult decision."
Herald Staff Writer Arnold Markowitz contributed to this report.
photo: Ernest Urtiaga hugs attorney Jose Quinon
Edition: FINAL
Section: LOCAL
Page: 1B
Index Terms: PROBE MD POLICE SHOOTING VERDICT COVERAGE
Record Number: 8302170410
Copyright (c) 1983 The Miami Herald
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