Opinion ID: 1032332
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Military Friend, Coworkers

Text: Jerry Taylor testified he met defendant in 1979 when they were assigned to the same army unit at Fort Colby in Panama. According to Taylor, defendant responded disrespectfully to criticism by superior officers, had a reputation for not accepting correction, and went AWOL for at least 30 days during the time he was posted there. Sam Morrison worked with defendant in 1982 for about a year in a telemarketing firm. Morrison described defendant‟s odd behavior as including jumping on the top of his desk, running around his desk, and yelling into the phone. Defendant was the class clown in the office, and bragged that he “had 10 women all over the country, all over the world.” Defendant would visit Morrison‟s house and drink pitchers of margaritas with Morrison‟s father. Paul Shawhan was defendant‟s supervisor in 1989 at USA Aluminum. According to Shawhan, defendant acted “like a self-appointed police officer,” continually reporting other people‟s minor infractions. Shawhan said defendant had a bad temper and when something was not going exactly the way he wanted, he would get angry quickly. Shawhan eventually terminated defendant‟s employment because he got into a physical confrontation with another employee. Asked to describe the incident, Shawhan testified the other employee was simply paying for his food at a lunch truck when defendant became upset, “jump[ed] up in his face and start[ed] making all kinds of motions like he [defendant] was going to do something.” Defendant seemed both angry and anxious. After Shawhan fired defendant, defendant responded that “it was okay” because the Los Angeles Police and Sheriff Departments were interested in employing people like him who possessed an “international passport.” Norma Sandoval was an assistant manager at a Taco Bell restaurant where defendant was also an assistant manager. She worked with him for several months in early 1989. Sandoval testified defendant got along reasonably well with others. When he worked, he would joke around and talk about having sex with multiple girls at the same time. Defendant asked her to go out. Sandoval said he made her feel nervous. Mary Ann Scott was the manager of the Taco Bell restaurant where defendant worked as assistant manager for two months. Scott testified that defendant seemed slow to learn the paperwork portion of his job and that he tried to find an easy way out in other areas of his work. Although Scott spent extra time working with defendant, he never seemed to get his work completed and she had 11 to finish it for him. She talked to him about the problem many times. She said defendant got upset more readily than other employees when he was corrected. Scott‟s supervisor, Dennis Burkhart, testified that once when he was visiting the Taco Bell where defendant worked, defendant asked Burkhart to evaluate defendant‟s performance. When Burkhart relayed to defendant some of Scott‟s criticisms of him, defendant claimed Scott was picking on him. Defendant seemed angry, like he was boiling inside, and appeared frustrated. Defendant was perspiring, his eyes bulged out, his face was red and he glared at Burkhart. Burkhart was afraid that defendant was going to physically assault him. On March 20, 1989, Scott called defendant at home around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. She was upset and told him to come immediately to the Taco Bell because he had not cleaned the store properly when he closed the previous night. Defendant arrived about 10 minutes later and was angry. They got into a heated argument with raised voices. Defendant said Scott was always complaining and that if he could not do the job the way Scott wanted, then “I guess I am out of here.” Scott told him that was stupid, but defendant threw his keys into the office on the desk and stomped out the door. Scott denied telling defendant that he was fired. A few days later, defendant came to the Taco Bell for his paycheck and said he was leaving California. Scott subsequently received a phone call from someone at a Taco Bell in San Antonio, Texas, asking about defendant because defendant was there and applying for a job. Scott relayed the information to the police, who had previously interviewed her.