Opinion ID: 1960299
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 26

Heading: hector sanabria

Text: Sanabria's first murder occurred on September 25, 1984, when Sanabria, a drug dealer, shot and killed another drug dealer, Omar. The shooting was an attempt by Sanabria to obtain a monopoly over the sale of drugs in Paterson. The pre-sentence report stated that Sanabria and his brother, Junior, were concerned that Omar was attempting to move into their territory, and that he had robbed one of their workers. During a meeting between Omar and the Sanabria brothers, Junior struck Omar with a gun. When Omar reached for his gun, both Sanabria brothers fired their weapons. Sanabria also grabbed Omar's gun and shot him with his own weapon. Substantial proof suggested that Sanabria had provoked the encounter. Omar's body was found with seven bullets in it, five in the heart. The second murder occurred on December 3, 1984, when, during an argument about the ownership of drugs, Sanabria shot and killed Edwin and Nelson Aponte on a street in Paterson. As in the killing of Omar, evidence supporting Sanabria's claim of self defense was weak. The cause of death for both victims was multiple gunshot wounds in the chest. A jury convicted Sanabria of Omar's murder, and on April 25, 1986, the court sentenced Sanabria to life imprisonment, with a thirty-year parole disqualifier. Despite this murder conviction, the prosecutor did not file a notice of the c(4)(a), prior-murder-conviction factor in the case involving the murder of the Aponte brothers. The jury convicted Sanabria of the knowing and purposeful murder of both brothers. The court sentenced Sanabria to two thirty-year terms, each with a thirty-year parole disqualifier and each consecutive to the other. Detailed Narrative Summaries, supra, at 227-28.