As they were driving, they noticed Paul's truck behind them. During the civil lawsuit, it came to light that the Moore brothers receive millions in government agricultural subsidies. The lack of complete alignment resulted from the diagram or indented sheet being moved, the diagram being drawn at different times, or a line being overwritten. Paul appears to have suffered more quietly than his cousin. Defense counsel, anticipating the very strategy the prosecutors ultimately used, complained to the trial court that the first prosecutor offered only a short opening argument, whereas the second prosecutor had argued for over two hours when she once again objected to the sandbagging. Virginia Carmen Ortiz. Chance of rain 100%. A forensic document examiner compared the sheet of paper with the indentations that had been seized from Paul's residence to the diagram of the bomb mailed to the Colusa County Sheriff's Department. According to the Colusa County Sun Herald, Susan Susie Caseys Murder: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. 107 5th St, Colusa, CA. The boy had to run two miles to get help. And, as with the admissibility of the wiretap evidence, the argument is simply a diminution of the probative value suggested by the prosecution; it is not that the evidence bore no probative value, just that it was substantially outweighed by the risk of prejudice. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. They now want the white Ford F-250 hit. Moore was cuffed and booked at the Colusa County Jail at the age of 47. Unfortunately, Arlan passed away, leaving Roger to handle the affairs. February 3, 2023 (75 years old) View obituary. Are you concerned about the rising tensions with North Korea? Higher wind gusts possible.. We disagree. When asked if his temper had caused problems for him in the community, he testified, I'm not the easiest guy to get along with. By his own account, his father not only physically abused him, but from the time he was eight or nine years old made him fight with other boys to resolve their conflicts. But apparently they had little difficulty reaching their verdict. The delivery and return addresses were printed label strips made with a label maker. Cemetery Records. Please try again. He threatened to beat [his] dad's ass on multiple occasions. Whoever drew the diagram, he believed, was intimately familiar with the construction of that device.. "I don't imagine my clients will see anything of it," Sacramento lawyer Justin Gingery said. There were pieces of metal shrapnel in his chest, neck, and brain. Having reviewed the evidence offered by the prosecution, we now turn to the evidence presented by the defense that Peter, not Paul, planted the bomb that killed Roberto Ayala, for he too appeared to disdain the man, he too had the opportunity and familiarity with the irrigation pump, he too had access to the area in which the bomb was planted, and he too had incriminating evidence on his computer hard drive. He will rather seek life in prison without parole for Paul Moore. (People v. Jacobs (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 728, 737-738.) In addition, he had a violent disposition and leveled threats to harm not only Roberto, but his father, his uncle, and many others who upset him. They had a warrant and wanted to find more evidence that would tie Moore to Ayala's murder. I would decline anyway because I saw target two with his girls and that I can't deal with. In the explosive expert's opinion, the evidence collected from the scene of the explosion was consistent with the diagram of the bomb, including a bolt with the piece of fishing line, pieces of a sprayed-black plastic bottle, plastic wrap, and washers and bolts that might have been part of the bomb. By Harold Kruger A document examiner expert testified at trial that the paper used in the second letter sent to the sheriff, the diagram, and the indented paper were chemically indistinguishable. He was born January 23, 1935, in Turner . Paul Moore was arrested five months after the explosion after a search warrant was executed at his home by the Colusa County Sherrif's Office assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,. Whether a trial court has erred in admitting evidence under Evidence Code section 1101 is also reviewed for an abuse of discretion. He had been angry and upset with the Moore family since he was 12 years old. Paul, through his own words, told that story from his perspective, and his perspective provided the jury invaluable insight into his motive for committing such an atrocious act. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. PAUL ROGER MOORE, Defendant and Appellant. He discovered what the prosecution experts had all missedthat the user of Peter's computer had visited a YouTube rat trap video. That evidence, Paul argued, pointed to Peter's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. "We've waited 25. God [sic] luck. We cannot say the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence of a pattern of fascination and aptitude with building things, some requiring electrical aptitude and some that did not. Chance of rain 100%. Later, as a father, Paul taught Gunner how to hard-wire electronics to his car battery so he would not have to use the cigarette lighter to power the electronics in his car. We accept for purposes of this issue the trial court's characterization of the defense closing argument. Meanwhile, he was treated worse than any employee, worked harder, but was never given a raise. Although the trial was lengthy, they took less than a day to deliberate. It was improper in Paul's estimation because the wiretapping evidence was admissible solely to prove his technical knowledge, yet the prosecutor transformed it into improper character evidence. Thus, he was suggesting by analogy that the document examiner could not say the papers were a positive match. The trial court rejected the defense claim that the prosecutor improperly had compared paper stock analysis to DNA analysis when there was no DNA analysis in evidence. I received info and instructions via USPS. On tonights episode of Dateline NBC, Keith Morrison interviews family members and investigators in Robert Ayalas murder case. While Moores exact net worth as of 2020 is unknown, he must be worth millions. The defense argued that Peter had been present at the scene of the explosion. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. In early July, Paul was asked to drive out to the rice field to turn on the water pump without Roberto. The outside square of the diagram is the electrical box that we've described.. Peter testified he was going to physically beat up Roberto. They seized this sheet but not the sheets of paper below it. The attorney said he didn't take a fee to represent the Ayalas. He also testified that Paul and a friend created an acetylene bomb by combining acetylene gas and oxygen in a balloon. Ayala died instantly from the explosive device, and fire and law enforcement officials originally believed the explosion was an accident. Paul Moore, a family friend of Ayala's, was found guilty of setting the explosive device that killed Ayala after he turned on an irrigation pump at a rice field at the Moore Brothers farm.. He stressed that Peter's history of acting out with physical force, coupled with his hatred for Roberto and his lifelong ambition to work his grandfather's farm, constitutes overwhelming evidence that Peter was the murderer. The settlement also included about $44,800 in worker's compensation payments. Burial service, Funeral service, Memorial service, Cremation, Special service for veterans, Pre-arrangements, Grief support, Caskets & Vaults & Urns and more products . He never apologized, and her husband, Antonio Ruiz, demanded that she not confront him. He lived with his parents and. This was my first and final job. Since he was seven, when his father was tragically killed, he is 16 years old now. During his apprenticeship, Paul worked alongside Roberto. He denied involvement in the explosion, declaring it was a chicken shit way for somebody to do it. As mentioned earlier, he claimed he had little experience with electrical devices and no experience with the irrigation pumps. C075231 (Super. The jurors could have found his behavior odd, even calculated to focus the investigators' attention on his cousin. "My sister-in-law is friends with the family," he said. His son, Fabian, who was 7 at the time, witnessed the explosion and ran two miles through fields to find help. To understand if, why, and how Paul would have blown up Roberto, the prosecution attempted to tell the painful story of the men of the Moore family farm and their tortured relationships. "I feel like I've lost two sons in one time," Roger Moore said. Considered in context, there is no danger the jurors were misled or that the document examiner's expert testimony was falsely elevated to the stature of DNA evidence. 13.56.206.54 She thereafter requested the opportunity to offer a surrebuttal. On August 15 the investigators received a second letter and a diagram of a bomb. A trace evidence examiner testified that the chemical composition of the fishing line found in Paul's boat was indistinguishable from the fishing line wrapped around a bolt found at the scene of the explosion. Periods of rain. Contact us. Paul Moore was identified as the sender, and the authorities were soon knocking on his door. While there is no evidence that he actually had been disinherited, Peter believed he had and that Roberto would be the recipient of his share of the farm. He explained that the indented sheet appeared to have been placed beneath the document that was actually written even though some of the lines did not align perfectly. Dr. Svetlana Moore is a Family Medicine Doctor in Colusa, CA. (b).) The defense raised important questions and offered a more than plausible alternative theory, but those questions were answered by the jury and it rejected Paul's argument that Peter was the perpetrator. And because the explosion would be instantaneous, the victim would still be in contact with the electrical panel and would be electrocuted. Code, 1101, subd. But it is the jury's prerogative, not ours, to weigh the evidence. On July 16, 2011, he was killed in front of his son. He opined that the second letter and bomb diagram had the same physical, optical, and chemical profiles. IPeter or Paul: Substantial Evidence to Support the Verdict. Many years before the explosion, he set up two duck blinds in a field on the farm. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Thus, we do not address the theoretical question as to whether there is some line a prosecutor may not cross during rebuttal argument. Clearly, over the years he earned the trust and respect of Roger and Gus. Click to reveal Little Fabian ran through the sunflower fields, as far as he could, to get help for his father More Friday at 9/8c with @Dateline_Keith. Based on Peter's violent disposition and the threats he leveled at Roberto, among others, the rat trap YouTube video found on his computer, his basic understanding of electrical devices sufficient to enable him to install electric sprinkler systems, his familiarity with the field and with Roberto's responsibilities, his opportunity to plant the bomb, and his compelling motive to remove him from the farm, Paul argued that Peter planted the bomb that Roberto activated when he opened the electrical box to adjust the water levels on the rice field. We are not at liberty to second-guess the trial court's careful and reasoned assessment, and because we find there is no abuse of discretion, there was no error in admitting the evidence. The boy witnessed the explosion that killed his father. Though there was no DNA evidence or fingerprints on the explosive device, the jury found Paul Moore guilty. Paul returned to work on the farm a few years before the explosion. He explained that he had posted a message entitled Horrible Tragedy on a sports gambling Web site wherein he described the death of Roberto Ayala. And we do not accept the proposition that a document that was either written or transferred a mere year and a half before the blast was too remote in time. They gave me two months 4 this job. In fact, he testified [t]hat piece of property is my favorite piece of property that we own. It was in that field that he ran his duck club before Roger took down the blinds. It is speculative, according to Paul, to assume that wiretapping a telephone is any more complicated than purchasing a Radio Shack or Spy Store device complete with user instructions for dummies [or] a DIY device.. All of these considerations could factor into the trial court's delicate weighing process. Roger, along with his brother, Arlan, used to own Moore Brothers Farm in Colusa, California. Poyner said that after the verdict was announced, he called Peter Moore. I got name, age, vehicle description, plate number and location. As an example, he referred to DNA experts who do not say something is a positive match or is definitely someone's DNA but who give possibilities larger than the number of people who ever lived on earth. February 7, 2023 (78 years old) View obituary. My Life: Paul maintains that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting the prosecution's evidence of a document extracted from Paul's computer entitled My Life because its probative value was outweighed by undue prejudice within the meaning of Evidence Code section 352. The evidence is all circumstantial. There is an abundance of evidence to support the notion that Peter has been a bully his entire life and his relationships ended poorly. At trial there was no evidence Paul climbed a telephone pole to attach a wire to the line or any other evidence as to how Paul actually wiretapped the telephone. The actual printing on the diagram looks like somebody printed it on a label maker, affixed it to the paper and then ran it through a photocopier. And that primer is causing an immediate flash into the cavity of that pipe assembly, the pipe bomb itself, and initiates the explosive charge. His reputation in the community would make Peter the more likely suspect than Paul. He also noted that the second letter, bomb diagram, and indented sheet of paper had comparable levels of sodium, sulfur, and chlorine. He ran to help him, but his father was unresponsive. The wiretapping occurred in 1995 or 1996. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Defense counsel argued the document should have been excluded because it was written at least 18 months before Roberto was killed and many of the events Paul described had occurred in his early childhood. I am over this life. Trig one, vibration activated. The letter stated: Ayala was actually warned what would happen if he screwed with these people. Colusa, CA. The bolts were just like the bolt discovered at the scene of the explosion. The jury was well acquainted with the wiretapping evidence as well as with Paul's description of his life. We will not repeat what we have already said about the prosecutor's references to either the wiretapping or the My Life document but will examine Paul's other allegations of prosecutorial error. Paul was afforded a fair trial. A Colusa County judge approved the judgment last month in the wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2013 by Jesus, Maria and Paola Ayala against Moore Brothers, Arlan Moore, Paul Moore and Roger Moore. Paul's voice was powerful circumstantial evidence the prosecution had every right to exploit. While Peter and Paul have very different dispositions, they share similar grievances and similar life trajectories. Instead, he agreed that the saying, Don't let your bulldog mouth let your mockingbird ass get in trouble applied to Peter. Whether or not there is some authority to support the questionable proposition that a prosecutor's rebuttal is limited by the scope of the facts and evidence argued in the defendant's closing argument, the prosecutor did not introduce evidence outside the record or float a completely new theory of guilt. First three fuses, the device had dual triggers and detonators. On November 24 they noticed the device was not working and they went to Paul's house to investigate. Paul complained that Roberto was accorded special privileges, such as keeping sheep and goats by the farm workshop, drinking beer while working or after work, and driving company vehicles home. Paul Moore convicted in Colusa bombing death, Animals in and out of control: Yuba and Sutter counties clarify common animal complaints, I view this as a solution: Habitat proposes 217-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Yuba City, Chili cook-off heats up Yuba City Moose Lodge, Marysville man serving time for attempted murder dies in prison, Plumas Lake man to be sentenced in case of pure evil, Caretaker who stole from the tulip lady gets community service, Marysville woman celebrates 100th birthday, Livestock auction returns to Colusa fairgrounds. Again, the limited scope of appellate review presents an insurmountable obstacle. . Powered by. Over defense objection, Paul's ex-father-in-law testified that Paul apologized to him for tapping his daughter's telephone when they were going through a divorce, putting some kind of recorder under her modular home so he could monitor conversations. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Ct. No. To be sure, Paul had demonstrated an advanced mechanical aptitude and an understanding of electrical currents. He faces life in prison without parole He also testified that Paul had told him that Roberto had said he was only good for picking up trash and that Roberto would be receiving Peter's inheritance. Neither Peter's nor Paul's DNA matched swabs taken from the letters, envelopes, and stamps. His trial lawyer provided excellent representation and advocacy. Paul argues the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence he had wiretapped his ex-wife's telephone during divorce proceedings 15 years earlier and had made oxygen acetylene bombs 20 years earlier. Paul then drove to the farm shop. The evidence will show that the explosive device in this case was housed inside a 480-volt high amperage pump control panel. Similarly, when Roberto and Paul disagreed about a design for a mud chisel, Roberto's idea garnered Roger's blessing. Defendant insists there is no substantial evidence that he murdered Roberto Ayala, and the weak circumstantial evidence of his guilt is insufficient to sustain the verdict in the context of the more compelling evidence that his cousin Peter was the perpetrator. A Sustainable Legacy Founded over 90 years ago, at Moore Farms we vow to apply our family farming experience toward growing the finest produce for you, the customer and consumer. He learned that a bell rang every time a verdict was made. Your IP: Why am I helping u? There is also freehand drawing on the diagram, and there's also straightedge drawing on the diagram. Peter told Ruiz and Conedy-Ruiz he did not like Roberto, he was practicing karate to prepare him to fight Roberto, and he referred to Roberto as a son of a bitch. In either June or July of 2012 Peter told Ruiz and his wife to forget everything he had told them a year earlier. He pointed out that the markings or threading on the metal indicated to him the explosion was not an accident. We know that his farm has rice fields and walnut orchards. If u have any questions, place ad in Sac Bee, help wanted, make it the last ad [in the] August 21st issue. Ayala worked at the Moore Brothers Farm, where he was trusted by brothers Arlan and Roger. Nor was there a terrible danger of unnecessarily inciting the jurors' passions. He testified Paul constructed a rice roller and a fertilizer aqua bar in the farm workshop. The prosecution called a litany of forensic experts connecting Paul to the sheet of paper with the indentations of the bomb diagram, the paper in the printer to the paper used in the diagram of the bomb, the ink in the copier to the ink used on the second letter and the diagram, the type of labels used in the letters and diagram to the type Paul used on his own files, and the fishing line found in his boat to the type of fishing line used in the bomb. He was a boxer in high school. The case is a classic whodunit. Thus, the court disagreed with Paul's threshold argument at trial that the prosecutor's rebuttal was improper because it exceeded the scope of the defense closing argument. He could not retrieve his father's cell phone because his father was on fire. He needs to be careful. Martin opined that Peter was not technically, with regard to electricity, or mechanically talented at all; rather, he was forgetful, had difficulty maintaining the tools he needed for his landscaping business, and suffered minor coordination problems. C075231. The washers were consistent with washers used on the spikes that had been laid on the road leading away from the explosion site. And it is particularly challenging because, as Paul argues on appeal, there are no witnesses, no fingerprints on any of the bomb parts, no DNA, no confessions, and no admissions. Roberto's death occurred against the backdrop of great family disharmony and dissension between the two principals in this deadly drama, Peter and Paul, cousins whose fathers were the sons of Richard and Mimi Moore, owners of an 1,800-acre farm near Colusa. Paul felt belittled as Roberto assumed what Paul believed was his own place on the farm. But the determinative question is whether the trial court abused its discretion by finding the risk of prejudice did not substantially outweigh whatever probative value the evidence had. Their hopes had not materialized. Most damning, they found a sheet of paper with indentations that appeared to match the diagram of the bomb sent to the sheriff. A friend read about his fingerprints on the indented sheet in a local newspaper and asked him about it when he called Paul in jail. In the My Life document, as described above, Paul provides a litany of perceived wounds and transgressions he suffered throughout his life on the farm and many of the indignities he felt were a result of the privileges, trust, and respect showered on Roberto by Roger and Gus. Roger Moore also testified that his son had technical and electrical expertise, a characteristic that the prosecution said was necessary to construct the bomb. But Peter's situation was far different. Our sole duty, as we wrote at the outset, is only to insure that there is substantial evidence to support the verdict this jury reached. SACRAMENTO Paul Moore was found guilty on Friday of the Colusa County murder of Moore Bros. farm foreman Roberto Ayala after about five hours of deliberations. In Paul's view, it was Peter who had lost the most and had the most to gain by Roberto's demise. A month before the explosion, Roger learned from Paul that Peter threatened to injure Roberto. Once it gets free enough to the point, and that won't take a whole lot, that washer drops or is free, and then that bolt drops, pulls the line through the first nut on the top, pulls the nut or the line through the bottom nut over here, the second one, which yanks on this little trigger right there releasing the bale. (People v. Vereneseneckockockhoff (1900) 129 Cal. Gingery said the $20 million judgment cannot be discharged in Bankruptcy Court and can be periodically renewed. An individual would need prior knowledge of electric devices and electrical systems in order to properly and safely install the device. Titled Family Business, the episode shows how the murder took place against the backdrop of the Moore family saga. There was no undue consumption of time since Paul's ex-father-in-law explained what he knew about Paul's involvement in creating an explosion in a paragraph or two. (People v. Olguin (1994) 31 Cal.App.4th 1355, 1373.) Ultimately, the Ayala family was awarded $20 million. On top of that, Roger surely had the resources to ensure everyone was looked after. And, of course, he was ostracized from the farm and estranged from his father. We agree with the trial court. Performance & security by Cloudflare. He thereafter refused to come back for any additional interviews. McNary-Moore Funeral Service in Colusa, CA. Eduardo Ayala, who still works on the Moore Bros. farm where his brother was killed, said that on the first day of court, he heard bells ringing in the halls. Installing a device inside such a panel is a highly dangerous activity. During the trial, Roger Moore testified he planned to share his half of the farm with his son, but that Paul Moore would have to work his way up in an effort to build respect from the employees, a situation that Druliner said Paul Moore resented. Roger attested to his son's aptitude for building things, albeit the examples he cited were not electric. pic.twitter.com/trQ6iY5jej, Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) July 24, 2020. But abused and ostracized by his father Gus, whom family members called Grumpy, Peter was not allowed to farm and instead spent 21 years earning a living in a landscape business he apparently loathed at times. Paul's narrative of family intrigue has all the earmarks of a Shakespearean tragedy and makes for compelling drama. The investigators drove around the block a couple of times and on one occasion had eye contact with Paul. "The bells of justice have finally rung for us," Ayala said. (People v. Kipp (1998) 18 Cal.4th 349, 369. This information was not disclosed to the public. ROBERTO'S DEATH AND THE MOORE FAMILY TRAGEDY. PAUL ROGER MOORE, Defendant and Appellant. Chance of rain 100%. I finally found the Ford, and now it is driven by some young guy, not the brother. Peter tried to convince his grandmother Mimi to disinherit his father, confident that his Uncle Roger would be more fair. Diane Nichols, under appointment by . A state appeals court this week upheld Paul Moore's murder conviction. Peter's best friend, Blane Martin, countered this narrative. And while it may be doubtful that Paul killed the farm's foreman to accelerate his own position given that his father had already decided to partner with him, he certainly felt aggrieved and humiliated that he had been denied the opportunity to become the foreman when he graduated from high school and that, throughout his life, those employees like Roberto Ayala who were not part of the Moore family were valued more and treated better than either Peter or Paul. But the fire and law enforcement officials who performed the initial investigation did not know a bomb had been planted in the irrigation pump. For example, Roberto traveled with Peter to a seminar about operating a sod business, but when Peter expressed interest in purchasing a harvester, Roberto alerted Roger, and Roger disapproved of the purchase. Half of the amount will go to. Beyond the substance of the arguments, Paul contends the prosecutors sandbagged him by withholding the most powerful evidence until rebuttal and depriving him of the opportunity to answer that evidence. Paul maintains the prosecutor's comparison to DNA analysis imputed an accuracy to the paper and ink analysis that was not in evidence, and therefore it was error to allow the prosecutor to argue the ink, paper, and labels were matches. We agree with the trial court that the argument was permissible as a mere example or analogy. He had not been allowed to work on the farm for over 21 years. SACRAMENTO Paul Moore was found guilty on Friday of the Colusa County murder of Moore Bros. farm foreman Roberto Ayala after about five hours of deliberations. Paul alleges the trial court erred by denying his request to offer a surrebuttal to the second prosecutor's rebuttal and depriving him of the opportunity to offer a reply to the facts and arguments he had not raised in his own closing argument. Simply put, the jury concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that based on this evidence, Paul was guilty of first degree murder. Half of the amount will go to Jesus, Maria and Paola Ayala, while the other half will be placed in an annuity for Roberto's now 12-year-old son. Ruben was born in Woodland, CA, on January 27, 1941, to Frank and Eleanor Reynoso. Paul Moore was convicted of killing Roberto Ayala, an employee of Moore Brothers. "We've waited 25 months and seven days for this moment," said Eduardo Ayala, brother of the victim. Higher wind gusts possible.. (a). But that is not to say a wiretap does not have sufficient probative value to merit admission, and given the minimal risk of potential prejudice, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence that did offer some probative value into the extent of Paul's knowledge about building and connecting electrical and mechanical devices. They want the brother, but it is now driven by some young guy, or do they want the young guy? Roger, Pauls father, got tied up in a civil suit brought by Ayalas wife, where she alleged that he must have been aware or should have been aware of Pauls malice and past criminal activities. Moore was convicted of killing Roberto Ayala. One of Pauls complaints was that Peter got an air-conditioned cab, while he drove the tractor, simply because he was unbearable to work with, otherwise. But in a document entitled My Life that he stored on his computer, Paul complained bitterly about his life growing up on the farm. Prosecutors David Druliner and Poyner argued that Paul Moore was clever and resented that he ranked low on the farm compared to other employees, particularly Roberto Ayala, who had a close relationship with Roger Moore. We have completed one-half of our job by presenting the circumstantial evidence from which the jurors could have reasonably inferred that Paul had the familiarity with Roberto Ayala's work routine and how to operate the irrigation pump as well as the opportunity to plant the bomb and the unique skill set in electrical and mechanical design to have constructed the victim-activated explosive device that killed him.