Imperial Valley press. (El Centro, Calif.) 1907-current, 1923-03-28
HARD FOUGHT
MURDER CASE
GOES TO JURY
Attorneys Close Case Of
of Messrs. CaZares
and Mendez
UTLEY ON STAND
Testifies Cazares Served
Term for Second
Degree Murder

y
and Alviao Mende2, indicted by the
grand jury for the murder of Mike
FOrnaCero on January =, were com
pleted this afternoon and it is be-
lieved a verdict will be arrived at
later in the day.
Simpson made the closing argu
ment for the prosecution and asked
that a verdict of first degree muir
der be brought in against both de-
PENDANTS. He claimed the crime
was the most cold blooded in the
history of Imperial County, and
that it was premeditated and DELHI
erately carried out.
Asks Extreme Penalty
The assault on Mrs. Fornasero
and her three small children, fol
lowing the killing of FornaserO, he
claimed, shows the lack of respect
for law and d-ccncy which charac
terizes the perpetrators of unlawful
acts and demanded that the murd
ers should be punished to the limit
Of the law as an example to others
who might be tempted to commit a
crime.
He followed the Investigations
conducted by the district attorney s
office and Sheriff Gillets against
the accused and maintained these
Investigations, coupled with the en-
phatic Identification of Mendez and
Cazares by Mrs. Fornasero and Joe
Fornasero, proved conclusively that
the two men made them guilty Of
the two men were i'll the party of
Mcxicans who committed the crime
ard therefore made them guilty of
murder. Mr.. Simpson made 4
deep impression on all who heard
his argument by the force with
which he drove home the evidence
against the accused and his stirring
pea for upholding the law.
Miller X. Kinds, counsel for Caz-
ares, preceded Mr.. Simpson and de-
clared his client had established an
alibi which he believed made it
impossible for the accused to have
participated in the murder. He dis.
counted the testimony of Joe and
Paul Fornasero regarding the iden-
titv of the accused as the men who
killed their father and again stated
their statements were contradic-
tory.
Mendez Acts Explained
Wilbur w. Randall, attorney for
Iax
the defense yesterday afternoon and
continued when court opened this
morning. He made an urgent plea
for his client, claiming the evidence
was not conclusive enough to prove
him as one of the guilty party, and
his acts in attempting suicide and
later making a confession, accusing
Jim Ortega of the murder, were in
spired through fear of the sheriff $
office and a disordcred mind caused
by the treatment he had received
from the authorities.
District Attorney Utley in the
opening argument for the prosecu-
ton asked that both men be found
guilty of first degree murder.
Utley Springs EIpr.se
The district attorney sprung a
surprise in court yesterday after
noon shortly before the defense
closed, when he took the witness
stand himself and introduced evil
dence showing that Cszares was con
vieted of second degree murder in
Ventura county in 1916, and was
sentenced to serve 10 years in the
state prison atFolsom. He was pa
rolled in 1916 and discharged from
custody in 1917.
Counsel for Cazares fought hard
against introducing the evidence,
but the court ruled against him.
The evidence consisted of "a letter
from the county clerk of Ventura,
reproducing the records in the Caz-
ares ease, and letter from the au-
thorities at Folsom prison. enclosing
n photo of Cazares at the time he
was received there, together with II
statement of his prison record.
Asked If he had anything to say
regarding this previous murder, Caz-
ares cody answered that the dis.
trict attorney should try the present
case now, and later on if he wished
TO take up the Ventura matter he