State v. Castagna

870 A.2d 653 (2005)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

McKeown and his friend Bennett Grant went to Sinners Go-Go Bar. Grant was a thirty-seven-year-old African American man who stood over six feet tall and weighed 220 pounds. At about 11:00 p.m., Carmine Perrotti, Lewis Rodriguez, Christopher Longo, and D'Amico (D) arrived at Sinners. D'Amico (D) was off duty as a full-time police officer. The four men went to the main bar to drink and watch the boxing match. They were seated across the bar from McKeown and Grant. Longo went home after the boxing match. McKeown and his friend Bennett Grant went to Sinners Go-Go Bar. Grant was a thirty-seven-year-old African American man who stood over six feet tall and weighed 220 pounds. At about 11:00 p.m., Carmine Perrotti, Lewis Rodriguez, Christopher Longo, and D'Amico arrived at Sinners. D'Amico was off duty as a full-time police officer. The four men went to the main bar to drink and watch the boxing match. They were seated across the bar from McKeown and Grant. Longo went home after the boxing match. Arias had some sort of confrontation with Grant and McKeown outside Sinners around 2:00 a.m. Grant went back inside Sinners and another conflict developed with Arias in the bar, which eventually spilled out onto the street. A crowd gathered outside Sinners and surrounded Grant. Grant broke free and ran with the crowd chasing him. All of the pursuers had consumed alcohol, some to the point of inebriation. The crowd that had been chasing Grant had degenerated into a raging mob. Elizabeth Mojica who resides in the area saw Grant running from the rear side of her house to the front and then onto the bridge. She also saw the mob continue to chase Grant and heard female voices yelling, 'Get him. Kill him. Fuck'em up. Get his black ass . . . He had no business doing this to me.' Elizabeth's husband, Jose Mojica, testified that he saw a Jeep stop and pick up two people. The Jeep then went the wrong way on the bridge, heading straight toward Grant. Mr. Mojica then saw the front passenger side door of the Jeep swing open and hit Grant. In an attempt to keep his balance, Grant grabbed the front of the vehicle. The Jeep then suddenly stopped and jerked forward, knocking Grant to the ground with the right front bumper. Arias and Baez corroborated the Mojicas' testimony. The mob reached Grant, as he lay directly in front of the Jeep. Punctuated by the screams of the participants, exhorting each other to the point of convulsive frenzy, the mob kicked, stomped, and beat Grant as he lay in front of the Jeep. (1) Gentile, who pled guilty to reckless manslaughter, admitted that he 'kicked [Grant] once or twice' in his buttocks and lower back; (2) Baez, who pled guilty to aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, admitted that he kicked Grant a couple of times on the right side of his face and that Grant had his hands over his face; and (3) Arias, who pled guilty to reckless manslaughter, admitted that she forcefully kicked Grant twice in the head. Each of these three witnesses also implicated D'Amico (D), Castagna (D), and Perrotti (D), as individuals who also kicked Grant. In fact, Gentile testified that 'everybody was getting their kicks in.' Castagna (D) appeared to have used less force in her kicks. After she kicked Grant, Castagna (D) was trying to pull Arias away from the scene, telling her 'We got to go. We got to get out of here.' Then a 'Hispanic [man], five-nine, five-ten, heavy build, short black hair, [wearing a] gray fleece, blue jeans with a reflective letter on his pants' holding a rock. This object was subsequently identified as a Belgian block weighing approximately twenty-five pounds. Using both his hands, the assailant raised the block above his head and 'immediately dropped it on the victim's head.' Baez identified Morales (D) as the person who threw the stone block at Grant's head. Once they realized Grant was severely injured they all fled the scene. EMTs arrived. Brain matter and blood emanated from his nose, his eyes were swollen shut, and there was a large pool of blood adjacent to his head. After approximately five months in the hospital, Grant died. Grant's death was caused by complications from multiple head traumas, consistent with being kicked and beaten with blunt objects. No single blow caused Grant's death. Grant died as a result of 'multiple blows' to the head and torso. The cumulative effect of these forces caused multiple contusions in the victim's brain. The expert opinion was that Grant was going to die even without the block hitting him. P's theory as to the cause of death rested upon the cumulative effect of the trauma inflicted by Ds both as individuals and by acting in concert with the remaining members of the mob. Ds were convicted. This appeal in part resulted. Morales (D) contends that the trial court committed reversible error by not sua sponte charging the jury on passion/provocation manslaughter, in light of testimony that the victim had violently attacked Castagna (D) and Arias (D), both friends of Morales (D).