Opinion ID: 198984
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Murders of Wilfredo Rivera-Rodriguez and Wilfredo Guzman-Morales

Text: 36 A third caceria occurred around Easter in 1994. At that time, Ibanez-Maldonado, Colon-Miranda, and Martinez-Velez met at the King's Court mesa. There, they planned a caceria in search of the Rosarios because of the drug point war. They drove a stolen white van to look for the Rosarios. While driving, they came across two people on a motorcycle. They recognized someone they were looking for, and Colon-Miranda and someone else began shooting at the individuals on the motorcycle. Ibanez-Maldonado testified that he had a Taurus 9mm firearm, Colon-Miranda had an AK-47 or an AR-15, and Martinez-Velez had an M-14 that jammed. There were three other Taurus pistols in the van. After they shot the driver and the motorcycle crashed, Martinez-Velez and Raul Ortiz-Miranda exited the van and killed the victims. When a police scanner alerted them that the police were in pursuit, they fled to a mountainous area, abandoned the van, and hid some of the weapons under leaves. Ibanez-Maldonado also testified that Martnez-Velez had darker skin than Ortiz-Miranda and that Ortiz-Miranda was wearing a white cap. 37 A police officer was following the white van as it pursued the motorcycle. After driving over the crest of a hill, the officer saw the bikers on the ground being shot by a tall, dark person and a tall, white person with a cap. A second officer responded to the shooting incident and chased the white van, which he eventually found near a hill. The police found several firearms near the van and a cap. Officers also seized casings for AR-15 and 9mm firearms within the van.