Opinion ID: 2634864
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Defendant's Arrest and Interview, February 22, 1990

Text: Beatriz Escamilla testified that sometime in February 1990, defendant, who was armed with a pistol and had suffered a gunshot wound, arrived at her residence and requested that she and her husband take him to the hospital. Escamilla's husband did so. On cross-examination, Escamilla testified defendant had a gun in his possession, which she recalled was the case sometimes, not regularly. John Laurie, one of the Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffs who testified in connection with the investigation of the shooting at the Las Playas restaurant, testified defendant was arrested at the hospital. Joe Olmedo, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective (who also was fluent in Spanish), advised defendant in Spanish of his constitutional rights and, with another law enforcement officer present, thereafter interviewed defendant at the hospital emergency room, apparently after defendant's gunshot wound had been treated. The interview was conducted in Spanish. Because Detective Olmedo died (of natural causes) prior to defendant's trial, his videotaped testimony given at the preliminary hearing was played for the jury. Detective Olmedo testified that defendant was placed under arrest for the murder committed at the Las Playas restaurant. According to Detective Olmedo, defendant denied committing any murders; however, after Detective Olmedo informed defendant that witnesses had identified him as having committed the murder at the Rita Motel, defendant indicated that he had killed a person by the name of Arnulfo, that is the only name he knew the person by, at that location.... According to Olmedo, defendant also told him the following: He indicated that he was staying in Room 23 at the Rita Motel and that at about 9:00 a.m. in the morning a person by the name of Sylvia Tinoco and a person [by the] name of Nicholas Venegas had arrived at the room to visit him and he said sometime in the afternoon he had heard a vehicle pull up into the parking lot and he had looked out and seen Arnulfo and a male Latin who he described as being 22 years of age in the vehicle. He said at that time he armed himself with a .45 semiautomatic pistol by placing it underneath his shirt. He said that he had heard that Arnulfo, referring to the victim, had made some threats against his life and he left the room and confronted him in the parking lot. He indicated that as he was walking towards the victim, and the victim was exiting the car, he told the victim that he wanted to talk to him. And that he basically just wanted to talk to him, didn't want any problems with him and if he wanted the girl [Sylvia Tinoco] that he could have her because his intentions, meaning Mr. Manriquez's intentions, were to return back to Mexico. At the same time he indicated that the victim was walking towards him and that the victim had indicated, `I don't want to talk to you,' something to the effect, calling him stupid. And at that point, ... Mr. Manriquez drew his weapon from his waistband and placed the barrel of the weapon into the victim's stomach, pushing him backwards and at the same time the weapon discharged. He said as the victim had stepped ... backwards as the weapon discharged and at the same time he remembered what the victim had said to him and he fired several more times as the victim was falling to the ground. Detective Olmedo further testified that he asked defendant whether the killing at the Rita Motel had anything to do with any type of narcotics transaction, and that in response defendant said it had nothing to do with the narcotics, that it was over the young lady, over the woman [Sylvia Tinoco]. On cross-examination, Detective Olmedo was asked whether defendant had said he had been afraid of Baldia as Baldia walked toward defendant, to which Detective Olmedo replied, No. He  he never said he was afraid of him. And I don't recall him saying that. Detective Olmedo further testified that he did not recall asking defendant whether defendant had feared Baldia.