Opinion ID: 2299402
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Pecuniary-Motive Contract Killers: I-1

Text: In 1988, Francis Brand began asking Randy Burroughs, a longtime high school friend, to kill Brand's brother Arthur. Arthur had abused his family for many years and sold drugs to children, including his brother, Joey Brand. Because of Arthur's behavior, Francis was both very angry at Arthur and very afraid of him. Burroughs testified that Francis regularly appealed to him to kill Arthur, and had in fact implored at least two others to do so as well. Francis initially offered $350, but later offered $1700 and then $2000 for his brother's death. Burroughs's motive in killing Arthur was thus twofold: to assist Francis in ridding the family of an abusive and hostile brother and to obtain monetary payment. In October of 1988, Burroughs agreed to kill Arthur, but chickened out. Instead, Burroughs fired a gun at a wall inside the Brand house. On July 4, 1989, while attempting to break up a fight between the Brand brothers, Burroughs became engaged in an altercation with Arthur. On July 11, 1989, Burroughs entered the Brand residence at 3:00 a.m. and opened Arthur's bedroom door. Arthur awoke and Burroughs said, You got to stop hurting people. He then exclaimed, You're done! Burroughs shot Arthur twice with a shotgun and killed him. Burroughs returned to the crime scene later on the night of the murder and told the investigating police officers that he had left his hat in the house during the prior day. He met with Francis that night and the next day, but did not discuss a payment. When the police interrogated him, Burroughs admitted to killing Arthur, implicated Francis, and revealed that the murder weapon was in the Brands' attic. Although Burroughs was placed in special-education classes, he graduated from high school. He held several jobs, but was never employed more than six months. He was single and had fathered three children with three different women. He had no history of drug abuse and had never been institutionalized. He had a prior conviction for making terroristic threats, and received a fine but no probation or incarceration for the offense. A grand jury charged Burroughs with conspiracy, murder, felony murder, burglary, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. Burroughs pled guilty to murder, and the other charges were dismissed. The court sentenced Burroughs to thirty years in prison without parole. He later served as a prosecution witness in the trial of Francis Brand. The AOC coded as present aggravating factor c(4)(d), pecuniary motive, and mitigating factors c(5)(e), duress; c(5)(f), no significant criminal history; c(5)(g), substantial assistance to the State; and the c(5)(h) catchall mitigating factor. B) James Clausell 1A and 1B Edward Atwood, the victim, filed a municipal complaint against his neighbor, Roland Bartlett, for intentional cruelty. The complaint alleged Bartlett failed to provide water to his dog and did not timely remove feces from the dog's kennel. Bartlett was acquitted of the former charge but fined for the latter. Subsequently, Anthony Bartlett, Roland's son, offered Paul Grant, codefendant Dwayne Wright's friend, $5000 to kill someone. Grant refused and later testified that Clausell and Wright agreed to murder Atwood for $2000 each. On August 12, 1984, Clausell was paged. After placing a call, Clausell told Wright: Tonight's the night.... We have to do it. Wright then asked Clausell to get the gun, and Clausell retrieved a .357 magnum from his house. At 10:45 p.m., Clausell and Wright went to Atwood's house, where they were told by Atwood's wife that he was not home. When Atwood returned shortly after midnight, Clausell and Wright knocked on the door. Atwood's wife, daughter, and grandparents were in close proximity as Atwood opened the door. His son was at the top of the stairs. After a short verbal exchange, Clausell fired two shots. The first bullet killed Atwood and the second narrowly missed Atwood's daughter. Clausell and Wright left the Atwood home and went to a club purportedly owned by Bartlett where they expected to get paid. Clausell was twenty-one years old when he murdered Atwood. He admitted that, at the time of the murder, he regularly sold drugs. Clausell also admitted that he had an $800-per-day cocaine addiction and had experimented with a variety of other drugs throughout the eight years preceding the murder. At the time of his arrest, Clausell had no prior convictions although he was facing a pending charge for his involvement in a nonfatal shooting. As a child, Clausell suffered a head injury that caused severe headaches. He later injured his head again when playing high school football. A grand jury indicted Clausell and Wright of own-conduct purposeful-or-knowing murder, conspiracy to commit murder, five counts of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and possession of a handgun without a permit. The court dismissed the conspiracy count, and a jury convicted Clausell of the other charges except for two of the five counts of aggravated assault. The jury convicted Wright of the same offenses, but found that Wright did not kill by his own conduct. Wright received a life sentence with a thirty-year parole bar on the murder conviction. Roland Bartlett, at a separate trial, was convicted and sentenced to a life term with a thirty-year parole bar for arranging the killing. At Clausell's penalty trial, his mother testified that his father had left her and six children when Clausell was approximately six years old. Clausell began working at the age of seven to help support the family. He dropped out of high school after completing the tenth grade and later enrolled in vocational school. His mother stated that Clausell was the man of the house, and that he advised his siblings. Clausell's brothers and sisters testified that he was like a father to them. Clausell was the father of one child. The jury found aggravating factors c(4)(b), grave risk to another and c(4)(d) pecuniary motive, and mitigating factors c(4)(c), age; c(5)(f), no significant criminal history; and c(5)(h), the catchall mitigating factor. The jury found that each aggravating factor outweighed all of the mitigating factors and sentenced Clausell to death. On direct appeal his death sentence was reversed because the trial court had failed to instruct the jury that Clausell must have knowingly or purposefully intended to kill the victim to be guilty of capital murder. State v. Clausell, 121 N.J. 298, 313-16, 580 A. 2d 221 (1990). On remand, Clausell was convicted of noncapital murder. C) Anthony DiFrisco 1A and 1B Anthony DiFrisco met Anthony Franciotti in 1984 when both were imprisoned together. After they were released, Franciotti asked DiFrisco to kill Edward Potcher. Franciotti believed that Potcher, a pizzeria owner, intended to inform the police about Franciotti's drug-dealing enterprise. DiFrisco agreed to commit the murder in exchange for $2500 cash and the cancellation of a $500 drug debt. In early August 1986, Franciotti made a $700 down payment. On August 12, 1986, Franciotti picked up DiFrisco and the two men drank alcohol and smoked marijuana. DiFrisco also purportedly used heroin. Franciotti then drove DiFrisco to the pizzeria where DiFrisco chatted with Potcher. When a delivery boy entered the establishment, DiFrisco ordered a pizza and soda to occupy his time until he could be alone with his victim. After the delivery boy left, DiFrisco asked Potcher for another soda. When Potcher reached for the soda, DiFrisco shot him four times in the head and once in the arm. DiFrisco returned to Franciotti's car and Franciotti drove him home. The following day, Franciotti paid the balance of the fee. The murder remained unsolved until the following spring when DiFrisco confessed after he was arrested in New York City for several routine street crimes, including car theft and reckless endangerment. Because DiFrisco was on probation, he knew that a conviction would mean certain jail time. He asked the arresting officer if there was something he could do to avoid going to prison. The officer told DiFrisco that he could improve his situation by informing the police about any major crimes, such as robberies or homicides. DiFrisco then confessed to killing Potcher, implicated Franciotti, and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution of Franciotti. Later, however, DiFrisco refused to assist prosecutors in their efforts to tape-record Franciotti. DiFrisco was addicted to heroin and cocaine and had served jail time for two prior adult burglary and criminal trespass convictions. He also had a troubled childhood and grew up without self-esteem. He lacked love, recognition and attention from his father, his mother failed to give him discipline and guidance, and his brothers were drug addicts. DiFrisco was charged with capital murder and weapons offenses. He pled guilty to knowing-and-purposeful murder, and waived a penalty-phase jury. The court found aggravating factors c(4)(d), pecuniary motive; and c(4)(f), murdering to escape detection, and the c(5)(g) mitigating factor, substantial assistance to the State. The court sentenced him to death. On direct appeal, DiFrisco's sentence was reversed because there was no extrinsic corroboration of his confession indicating that Franciotti had hired DiFrisco to kill Potcher. State v. DiFrisco, 118 N.J. 253, 571 A. 2d 914 (1990) ( DiFrisco I ). On remand, a penalty trial was held before a jury. The jury found the existence of the c(4)(d), pecuniary motive, aggravating factor and the c(5)(g) mitigating factor, substantial assistance to the State, as well as eight separate instances of the c(5)(h) catchall mitigating factor. After unanimously concluding that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors, the jury sentenced DiFrisco to death. The sentence was affirmed on direct appeal, State v. DiFrisco, 137 N.J. 434, 645 A. 2d 734 (1994) ( DiFrisco II ), and found not disproportionate in DiFrisco III, supra. D) Danny Harris On November 23, 1991, the police received a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival at the scene, the officers were directed to a third-floor apartment, where they noticed that the door frame had been damaged. They entered and found Georgia Wooten standing in the kitchen. Wooten led the officers to a front bedroom where they found Rondell Germany lying face down on the floor. Wooten identified the victim as the father of her sister's children. The unconscious victim was transported to the hospital where he died later that day. The autopsy revealed that Germany died as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest causing injuries to his lungs and heart. The police interviewed Wooten, who told them that Germany had stopped by and asked if he could come upstairs and speak with her sister. Because Germany had assaulted her sister a few days earlier, Wooten refused to let him speak with her. According to Wooten, Germany became angry and said, I'm not going to kill her, I'm going to bust her shit up. He and Wooten argued for approximately forty minutes. Eventually, another resident left the building and allowed Germany to enter. Wooten met Germany on the second floor landing, and the two spoke for about fifteen minutes. According to Wooten, she then noticed a man with a handgun standing on the second floor landing. Wooten yelled, Don't shoot me, and fled. Before she entered her apartment, however, Wooten heard a gunshot. Moments later, Germany yelled to her to let him into her apartment. He forced his way in and collapsed on the front bedroom floor. The police also spoke to a witness who said he could identify the killer. The witness told police that he went downstairs after he had heard the doorbell ring. When he opened the door, a man wearing a gray-hooded sweatshirt asked for Germany. The witness told the man that Germany was upstairs. As the man went upstairs, the witness called out to Germany and told him that the man in the sweatshirt was looking for him. Germany looked down and then returned to his conversation with Wooten. The male pulled out a long-barreled handgun and pointed it at Germany. Germany said, What's up? The male then shot Germany and fled. During the ensuing investigation, the police obtained a tape recording of a male and a female talking about Germany's murder and the money that would be supplied to the shooter to get him out of town. Wooten's sister identified the female voice as that of Wooten and the male voice as that of Wooten's nephew, Walter Wilson. The police read Wooten her rights, and she implicated Wilson. On November 25, 1991, another witness reported that on the day of the incident he had spoken to Danny Harris, who also went by the name of Tarique. Harris told the witness that he was being paid to shoot someone that day. Later that same day, the witness learned that Germany had been shot and killed, and that Harris was the shooter. The witness identified a photo of Harris, and a bench warrant was issued for Harris's arrest. Harris was apprehended on December 27, 1991. Harris was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, capital murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. On October 28, 1993, the jury convicted Harris of all charges. At the penalty phase, the jury found aggravating factor c(4)(d), pecuniary murder, and mitigating factors c(5)(d), mental disease, defect or intoxication; and c(5)(h), the catchall factor. Under the c(5)(h) mitigating factor, the jury found thirteen separate factors including that Harris suffered from organic brain damage, learning disabilities, a history of alcohol and drug abuse, and a troubled childhood and upbringing. The jury found that the aggravating factor did not outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court sentenced Harris to thirty years without parole, with a concurrent four-year term for unlawful possession of a weapon. The other convictions were merged for sentencing purposes. At the time of the offense, Harris was thirty-one years old and lived with his mother. He was divorced and had fathered four children by three different women. Harris dropped out of high school after completing tenth grade. He was self-employed as a home repairman and had also worked as a welder. Harris took medication daily for headaches resulting from a 1981 motorcycle accident. He admitted abusing alcohol in the past and claimed that he was intoxicated at the time of the offense. Harris denied the use of narcotics but had a prior conviction for possession of controlled dangerous substances. E) Richard Irizarry Irizarry was charged with capital murder and other lesser offenses for his part in the February 7, 1990, killing of Angel Laboy. On March 2, 1990, Irizarry provided a statement to the police. Irizarry asserted that on February 7, 1990, he was approached by Julius Boeglin. Boeglin asked Irizarry to kill Laboy because he was talking too much about Boeglin's drug business and owed Boeglin $1800. Boeglin offered Irizarry $1000 to perform the killing. Boeglin, his girlfriend, and Irizarry drove to a pizzeria where, as they sat in the car, Boeglin identified Laboy. Boeglin gave Irizarry a gun and told him to get him now. Irizarry stated that when he hesitated on getting out of the car Boeglin, with another gun in his hand, told Irizarry that he would be watching him. Irizarry said, The way [Boeglin] told me, he made me feel like he was gonna shoot me. Irizarry got out of the car and called out Laboy's name. Laboy turned, and on realizing what Irizarry was about to do, told Irizarry that Boeglin would kill him too. Irizarry stated that he then shot Laboy five or six times. Shortly thereafter, the police received a call about a homicide. At the scene, the police found Laboy, a twenty-eight year old male, lying on the sidewalk covered with blood. Laboy later died from massive internal bleeding caused by four gunshot wounds to the chest. During their investigation the police learned that Laboy had been dealing drugs for Boeglin and owed Boeglin approximately $1800. The police also learned that on January 12, 1990, Boeglin had been arrested at his place of business for possession of a controlled dangerous substance. Boeglin suspected that Laboy had set him up and had threatened to kill Laboy. Additionally, two weeks prior to his death, Laboy had been attacked by three men and was cut on his throat. On February 27, 1990, a witness contacted the police stating that he had information about Laboy's murder and that his life was in danger. The witness became an informant and, on March 1 and 2, 1990, secretly recorded his conversations with Irizarry, Boeglin and another witness. Although the tapes of those conversations were later ruled inadmissible, on March 2, 1990, the police obtained arrest warrants for Irizarry and Boeglin. Officers arrested Irizarry and picked up a second witness who admitted to getting rid of a gun for Irizarry by throwing it in a river. The second witness also told the police where they could find Boeglin. As a result, Boeglin and his girlfriend were later arrested at Boeglin's apartment. The police towed the girlfriend's car because it matched the description of the car used in Laboy's murder. Irizarry was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, capital murder, retaliation against a witness, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. When he volunteered to testify against Boeglin, the State reconfirmed its intention to prosecute Irizarry capitally, but agreed that his testifying against Boeglin could be used to establish mitigating factor c(5)(g), assistance to the State, should Irizarry be convicted of capital murder. Boeglin was convicted of noncapital murder. After Boeglin's trial, Irizarry's counsel sought to negotiate a plea on Irizarry's behalf based upon his cooperation with the State. The negotiations were unsuccessful, and a dispute arose over whether the prosecutor's office had improperly used Irizarry's immunized testimony against Boeglin in preparing for Irizarry's trial. The Appellate Division determined that the entire prosecutor's office would not be disqualified even though some of its members were familiar with the Boeglin trial and were potential defense witnesses in a penalty-phase hearing. Twenty-two days later, on March 22, 1994, Irizarry pled guilty to aggravated manslaughter, and was sentenced to a forty-year term with a twenty-year parole bar. State v. Irizarry, 271 N.J.Super. 577, 639 A. 2d 305 (App.Div. 1994). At the time of the offense, Irizarry was twenty-six years old and lived with his mother. He was divorced and the father of two children. Irizarry dropped out of school in the tenth grade and was employed as a cabinet maker. He apparently had attended Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings when incarcerated in the past and claimed to have been addicted to hits since the age of twelve. His prior convictions included robbery, burglary, resisting arrest, possession of stolen property, criminal trespass, and unlawful use of a vehicle. He was on parole at the time of the murder. The AOC coded as present aggravating factor c(4)(d), pecuniary motive, and mitigating factors c(5)(d), diminished capacity; c(5)(g), substantial assistance to the State; and the c(5)(h) catchall mitigating factor. F) Miguel Melendez Melendez, allegedly fleeing military service and criminal convictions, came to the United States from Cuba in 1980. He lived for a time with Lazaro Trimino. Pedro Gerome offered Trimino $5000 and a Miami vacation if Trimino would kill or hire someone to kill a certain person in Jersey City. Trimino hired someone, and Gerome gave that person a gun. However, the person was arrested for possessing the gun before the plan could be carried out. Trimino then asked Melendez, who agreed to perform the killing for $5000 and to prove his friendship to Trimino. Trimino instructed Melendez to wait in the victim's apartment building and confirm the victim's identity by inquiring about a car that the victim was selling. As the victim returned from shopping with his ten-year-old daughter, Melendez approached him and asked in Spanish about the car. The victim replied that he had already sold the car. Melendez then asked the victim for money. Replying that he had none, the victim walked away. The daughter, who was walking ahead of her father, heard two shots and turned to see her father fall to the ground. He was taken to a hospital where he died. When police officers arrived at the scene, the daughter gave them a description of Melendez. The victim was a former political prisoner in Cuba and the head of a club of former prisoners. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. Through information provided by an informant, the police were able to tape a telephone conversation in which Melendez admitted receiving money for killing someone in Jersey City. When arrested, Melendez waived his rights and gave a statement. He acknowledged that he had committed the murder and had fled to Puerto Rico. Melendez also stated that Trimino had hired and paid him to kill the victim. Melendez told the police that he killed to prove his friendship to Trimino: My friend Trimino had a problem with [the victim]. In Cuba you show your friendship by doing deeds without asking questions. I agreed to kill him.... I shot him in cold blood. Melendez and Trimino were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, purposeful and unlawful murder, possession of a handgun for unlawful purposes, and unlawful possession of a handgun. Melendez was convicted on all counts. At the penalty trial, a psychiatrist and a psychologist testified that Melendez was borderline mentally retarded and that he had an IQ of 70. There was also testimony that Melendez had given a statement to the police which resulted in the arrest of Trimino. The jury heard that Melendez was strongly influenced by Trimino, and that Trimino gave Melendez alcohol and pills on the day of the killing. Melendez expressed remorse for the killing. The jury found aggravating factor c(4)(d), murder for pecuniary gain. Melendez had asserted mitigating factors c(5)(a), extreme mental or emotional disturbance; c(5)(d), mental disease, defect or intoxication; c(5)(g), assistance to the State; and c(5)(h), the catchall factor, but the jury found only mitigating factors c(5)(g) and c(5)(h) and was unable to agree on the weighing of the aggravating and mitigating factors. Consequently, the trial court sentenced Melendez to life imprisonment with a thirty-year parole bar. The court merged the conspiracy conviction into the murder conviction, gave Melendez a consecutive ten-year sentence with a three-and-one-half-year disqualifier for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and merged the unlawful-possession conviction into the possession-for-an-unlawful-purpose conviction. Trimino pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and received a sentence of ten years with no parole ineligibility. As part of his plea agreement, Trimino agreed to aid the State in the prosecution of Melendez. Gerome has apparently fled the country and has not been prosecuted. G) Charles Pinchom Codefendant Celestine Payne, see infra at 248-49, 731 A. 2d at 1105, took out a $25,000 life insurance policy on an eighteen-year-old woman who lived with her. Then, in December 1994, Payne asked Charles Pinchom to kill the woman. Pinchom maintained that he initially refused Payne's request. However, Payne's daughter Wendy said that she was aware in January 1995 of Pinchom's plan to kill the victim. Also, on September 13, 1994, Pinchom had stabbed another victim for whom Payne had bought a life insurance policy that named her as the beneficiary. Like the young woman, this other victim lived in Payne's home; unlike the young woman, the other victim survived the stabbing. At Payne's request, on March 3, 1995, Pinchom came to her home. When he arrived, Payne gave him a crowbar. As the victim was curling her hair, Pinchom lethally bludgeoned her on the head four or five times. Pinchom and Payne then tried to hide the murder. They cleaned up the victim's blood, dressed her, placed her in a sleeping bag, and dropped her body at a park where two joggers subsequently found her. Pinchom also planned to blow up Payne's home that very day so that Payne could collect on a $538,000 insurance policy, but this scheme was never carried out. Pinchom confessed to committing these crimes. At the time of the murder, he was twenty-two years old and lived with his parents. He had dropped out of high school while in eleventh grade, was single, and had fathered two children. He was dealing drugs, although he had previously worked as a stock boy, dishwasher, and cook. He had also smoked marijuana daily since he was sixteen years old and had prior convictions for sexual assault and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He was on parole when he murdered the victim. A grand jury indicted Pinchom for conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, capital murder, two counts of hindering apprehension, and weapons offenses. He pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy and one count of attempted murder, noncapital murder, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. As part of the plea agreement, he agreed to cooperate with the State in connection with the prosecutions of Celestine, Wendy, or Wendy's brother. Pinchom was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for attempted murder and to a consecutive term of life with thirty years of parole ineligibility for noncapital murder. His remaining convictions merged for sentencing purposes. The AOC coded as present aggravating factor c(4)(d), pecuniary motive, and the c(5)(h) catchall mitigating factor.