Opinion ID: 2581358
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Bettancourt murder

Text: Between midnight and 1:00 a.m. on February 14, 1992, a group of people was gathered in East Palo Alto on Alberni Street, a site of illegal drug sales. A group of young women, including Shawnte Early, Teresa Beasley, and Tomika Asburry, was in the street drinking to celebrate the birthday of their friend Valerie Gardley. When a gold Thunderbird car stopped in the middle of the street, its driver, Michael Bettancourt, who was apparently trying to buy drugs, was immediately surrounded by potential sellers, including defendant. Steven Sims, one of the sellers, stuck his arm in through the open driver's window but was jostled, causing him to drop his rock of cocaine inside Bettancourt's car. Sims opened the driver's door to look for the fallen rock. Sims then heard defendant, who was holding a 9-millimeter automatic pistol, threaten Bettancourt to return the rock or pay for it. When defendant yelled, Get back, get back, Sims stepped away and saw defendant shoot Bettancourt once in the leg, then pause and unload the clip in the nine, shooting Bettancourt repeatedly. Although Asburry identified defendant as the shooter in her statement to the police, at trial she recanted, insisting that she had not seen the shooter, and that her earlier statement was false. After the shooting, Nathan Gardner testified that defendant jumped into Gardner's car, rode a few blocks, and got out. During the ride, when Gardner asked why he had shot Bettancourt, defendant explained that Bettancourt had tried to gaffle, meaning to steal from, him. Steven Sims testified that a day or so after the shooting he encountered defendant on the street and referring to the shooting said, Dude you tripped out. Defendant replied, He should have give[n] me my money or my rock back. Bettancourt was found dead in his car, with the driver's door standing open. No one in the neighborhood contacted by the responding officer had any information to impart about the shooting. That officer saw numerous shell casings in the street next to the open car door; investigators recovered 13 cartridge cases and two bullets from that area. Later forensic examination determined that 11 of the shell casings had come from a single gun.