Opinion ID: 2569893
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts and Procedure from the Record

Text: {6} The facts of this case are more completely presented in McClaugherty I, we present an abridged version here. The indictment arose from a shooting in Albuquerque over an argument wherein Ricky Solisz argued with a girl on the phone. The conversation allegedly concluded with Solisz threatening to slap or kick her. The girl was at a party at Defendant's apartment, and Defendant took umbrage when he was told of Solisz's aggression. Defendant and his friend Rodrigo Dominguez argued with Solisz on the telephone, and eventually Solisz agreed to bring his friends to a fight where Defendant and his friends would defend the girl from the disrespect. The two groups agreed to meet at a shopping center parking lot and arrived there in separate cars. {7} Defendant arrived with Dominguez, Nachima Coriz, and others at the rendezvous. McClaugherty I, 2003-NMSC-006, ¶ 5, 133 N.M. 459, 64 P.3d 486. Solisz arrived with his friends, Vincent Martinez and Eloy Sandoval. Martinez brandished a baseball bat. Id. ¶ 6. There was testimony that Defendant and his friends brought two handguns and a shotgun with them. Shots fired from Defendant's group fatally wounded Solisz and injured Martinez. The police determined that the fatal shot had come from a handgun; however, they recovered only one handgun and they could not determine if that gun had fired the fatal shot. [1] After the early morning shootout, Defendant and Coriz hid all day in a nearby apartment. That evening, Coriz turned himself in to the police and gave them a statement inculpating Defendant and Dominguez. 2003-NMSC-006, ¶¶ 5-6, 8-9, 133 N.M. 459, 64 P.3d 486. {8} Coriz testified for the State at Defendant's trial and was the only witness to identify Defendant as one of the young men who fired a gun on the night of the murder. Coriz testified that Defendant carried a pistol to the scene on the night of the murder and that he saw Defendant and another person get out of their car and run toward a fence bordering the parking lot. Coriz claimed that Defendant turned and shot at Solisz's car between five and seven times while he was running, then turned and jumped over the fence. Coriz also testified that after he, Defendant and Dominguez returned to Defendant's apartment, he heard Defendant tell his sister that they went and shot at some people. After the State rested, defense counsel called Defendant to the stand, where he was the last witness to testify. During Defendant's cross-examination, Montoya repeated statements he claimed were contained in witness statements to the police and drew a hearsay objection from defense counsel. Id. ¶¶ 9-14. Montoya's description of these witness statements during cross-examination became the subject of Defendant's first appeal to this Court. See Id. ¶ 3.