Opinion ID: 774017
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Accounts Compared

Text: 16 Leka argues that the accounts of Chiusano, Gonzalez, and Garcia differ in significant ways from the testimony of Torres and Modica. 17 1. According to Modica, Leka was in a car that was double-parked at the scene long enough for Modica to fixate on him, watch him joshing with the driver, and slow[ly] walk with Torres five car lengths before gunfire broke out. According to Chiusano and Garcia, however, the shooting erupted as soon as the shooter's car pulled over from traffic. A jury could deduce from the testimony of Chiusano or Garcia that the man Modica identified as Leka was in one car and that the shooter was in another. Since the only vehicle characteristic cited by everyone is its light hue, that explanation is perfectly plausible, as Modica subsequently conceded in an affidavit solicited by defense counsel in connection with Leka's direct appeal. See Carolyn Modica Aff. of Jan. 3, 1991. 18 2. According to Torres, Leka was the man he saw standing in the street and shooting downward. But neither Chiusano nor Garcia saw anyone get out of the light-colored car. More to the point, the physical evidence and the testimony of Chiusano, Gonzalez, and Garcia strongly support the theory that there was indeed a man standing in the street shooting, but that that man was the victim, Ferati. Garcia recovered a black revolver from the immediate vicinity of Ferati's body. And Ferati's responsive fire would have been aimed downward, toward the seated shooter in the light-colored car. After trial, Torres was shown a picture of Ferati and conceded that Ferati was the man in the street he saw firing the gun. See Elfren Torres Aff. of Apr. 10, 1998 (Torres Aff.). 19