[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN, FLA., CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

hJanuary 20



PENNSYLVANIA:

Judge tosses "emotionally disturbing" photos from Grace Packer trial



Calling the images “emotionally disturbing,” Bucks County Judge Diane Gibbons 
on Friday denied prosecutors’ requests to show close-up photos of Grace 
Packer’s dismembered body to a jury.

At issue were photos of the 14-year-old’s head, torso and limbs as they were 
found by hunters in October 2016.

“I don’t know how anyone could look at that photo, as a human being, and not be 
emotionally disturbed,” Gibbons said of a collection of limbs on a blue tarp.

District Attorney Matt Weintraub told the judge he wanted to use the photo, as 
well as a picture of Grace’s head and torso lying in the woods, to show what 
hunters saw when they stumbled upon her remains in Luzerne County.

Public defender Chris King objected to what he called “a particularly chilling 
display.”

Gibbons also denied a defense request to delay the trial pending appellate 
court rulings on challenges to Pennsylvania’s death penalty statute.

A jury will determine what happened to Grace, a former Allentown student 
allegedly raped and murdered by her adoptive mother and her mother’s boyfriend 
in Richland Township in 2016.

Police say Sara Packer, a former Northampton County adoption supervisor, 
planned and carried out the crime with Jacob Sullivan in July 2016 in a home 
they rented on East Cherry Road in Richland Township, just outside Quakertown. 
Grace was bound, gagged, drugged and left in a hot closet overnight to die, 
court records say. Police allege that when Sullivan found her alive the next 
day, he strangled her.

? He and Packer then allegedly hid Grace’s corpse for months under a pile of 
cat litter before dismembering and discarding it in rural Luzerne County.

Packer and Sullivan were arrested in January 2017 after surviving a failed 
suicide pact. Police say they tried to kill themselves with pills, but were 
found by a housemate who called for an ambulance.

At a hearing last year, witnesses testified that Sullivan confessed to killing 
Grace and implicated Packer. He is challenging the confession, saying he was 
delusional when he made the statements.

? Sullivan, wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit and handcuffs in court Friday, 
frowned as he stared at a computer screen showing the graphic photos, averting 
his eyes after a few moments and instead looking at the defense table. He did 
not speak.

Packer was not in court. She and Sullivan are being tried separately, with 
Sullivan’s case going first. Her attorney, Keith Williams, said Packer has not 
been asked to testify against Sullivan, and declined to say if she would.

Packer and her former husband, David Packer, adopted Grace and her younger 
brother in 2006. David Packer pleaded guilty in 2011 to sexually abusing Grace 
and another girl — one of at least 30 foster children the couple had in their 
Allentown home, authorities said. He was sentenced to 18 months to 5 years in 
prison and required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

Packer, 44, and Sullivan, 46, are each charged with homicide, rape conspiracy, 
kidnapping and abuse of corpse. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for 
Sullivan, and say they have not ruled it out for Sara Packer if she is 
convicted.

Weintraub told the judge that photos of Grace’s body parts are integral to his 
argument that the defendants are guilty of criminally mistreating Grace’s body.

“She was intentionally desecrated,” Weintraub said.

King called a photo that showed Grace’s face “gruesome.”

Weintraub said he believed it would help tell the story of how 2 hunters 
finally found her body, after several other people had walked by the remains in 
the woods, believing them to be animal parts.

“There is nothing more humanizing than a face. I believe it will really 
resonate with the jury,” he said.

Gibbons, in denying the photo’s use, said she believed jurors would be too 
upset by the image.

“I find this photo very disturbing. Very emotionally disturbing. Especially to 
jurors who are not used to seeing autopsy or crime scene photos,” she said.

? Packer and Sullivan remain in Bucks County jail without bail while awaiting 
trial. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Feb. 19.

(source: The Morning Call)








FLORIDA:

3rd US trial finds Spaniard guilty of murdering 3



A US jury on Saturday unanimously found a Spaniard guilty of murdering a 
nightclub owner and 2 dancers after the accused's 3rd trial in 21 years.

Pablo Ibar, 46, has already spent years on death row.

One of his lawyers, Benjamin Waxman, confirmed the latest conviction in Fort 
Lauderdale, Florida, and told AFP he would appeal.

"We're very disappointed with the verdict," Waxman said.

The trial began in October.

Ibar was charged for the 1994 murders of the club manager and 2 female dancers 
during a robbery at the manager's home in Miramar, Florida.

Ibar and another man were both charged that year but the co-accused, after an 
initial conviction, was ultimately acquitted and freed at a retrial.

Ibar first went on trial in 1997 but the jury could not agree on a verdict.

At a 2nd trial in 2000 he was convicted and sentenced to death.

But in 2016, Florida's Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a 
retrial, stating "numerous deficiencies and failures" of Ibar's defense lawyer.

The case has been closely followed in Spain, where it was taken up as a cause 
by anti-death penalty activists.

Ibar will be sentenced by the jury on February 25. Prosecutors are seeking the 
death penalty.

(source: france24.com)

*************************

Man accused of killing FMPD officer faces new charge



The alleged killer of Fort Myers police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller is facing a 
new charge of battery on a law enforcement officer after throwing a cup of 
urine at a Collier County correctional officer Friday.

The incident occurred at 11:30 a.m. Thursday as a Corporal was conducting his 
assigned duties, serving lunch, in a housing unit of the Naples Jail Center, 
according to the arrest report.

While the officer was distributing lunch, Wisner Desmaret, 29, threw a 
Styrofoam cup full of urine at him, hitting him on the head and his back.

Desmaret is currently facing the death penalty after shooting and killing 
Jobbers-Miller at the Marathon gas station on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard 
after the officer arrived to investigate the theft of a cellphone.

Desmaret, the alleged thief, lunged and took Jobbers-Miller to the ground, and 
then shot him with his own gun. The officer would later succumb from his 
gunshot wound to the head a week later on July 28.

On Aug. 10, Desmaret was indicted on 1st-degree murder charges and 7 other 
felonies. The trial awaits a competency exam sought by his attorney. It will 
determine whether Desmaret is mentally competent to stand trial. The results 
will be revealed later in the year.

(source: winknews.com)








CALIFORNIA:

Man accused of killing Stanislaus deputy is fit to face charges, psychologist 
says



A forensic psychologist on Friday testified that David Machado is mentally fit 
to face criminal charges in the death of Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy 
Dennis Wallace, who was shot in 2016 while checking on a reported stolen 
vehicle.

The criminal case against Machado has remained suspended for nearly two years 
since Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff determined the defendant 
needed treatment to restore his mental competency. The case cannot proceed 
until the judge is certain Machado understands the court proceedings and can 
assist his attorneys in his own legal defense.

Judge Zeff on Friday heard testimony from Caroline Goldsmith, a forensic 
psychologist at Atascadero State Hospital in San Luis Obispo County. On July 
23, 2018, she conducted a 90-minute mental evaluation on Machado, who has been 
diagnosed with delusional disorder.

Goldsmith said psychiatric medication has targeted Machado’s many symptoms. She 
told the judge that she concluded that Machado is mentally competent to face 
his charges, and he was able to rationally understand his case and the court 
proceedings.

The psychologist said that Machado expressed a great trust in his attorneys, 
and he told her that he would rely on his attorneys to form a legal strategy in 
his case.

“He was very motivated to get back to court with his attorneys,” Goldsmith 
said.

The psychologist also testified that Machado’s extensive delusional belief 
system has largely remitted, but not entirely. She said she didn’t know which 
delusions will reappear.

“(The delusions) may never completely disappear,” Goldsmith said in court.

Machado, 40, is charged with murder in Wallace’s death. The deputy was fatally 
shot shortly before 8:30 a.m. Nov. 13, 2016, after he spotted a stolen van at 
the Fox Grove Fishing Access near Hughson.

Wallace, 53, was a 20-year Sheriff’s Department veteran, assigned to Salida, 
the courthouse and Hughson.

On Friday morning, Goldsmith was questioned by Deputy District Attorney John 
Mayne, who is prosecuting the case. The psychologist was cross-examined by 
Machado’s court-appointed attorney, Deputy Public Defender Marlon Simon. “Star 
Wars” delusion

Goldsmith said in court that Machado had a lengthy “laundry list” of specific 
delusions he has exhibited in the past, including claiming to have invented 
“Star Wars,” saying the government was stealing from him, fearing people were 
trying to poison him, worrying that Stanislaus County officials were targeting 
him and that he passed the state Bar Exam at the age of 14.

The psychologist testified that Machado told her he used to believe some of 
these delusions, but he wasn’t worried about them anymore. Goldsmith said she 
does not think the delusions he has will prevent him from understanding the 
case and assisting his attorneys.

“I would acknowledge that I’m evaluating his ability to work with his 
attorneys,” Goldsmith said during cross-examination.

As part of her evaluation, Goldsmith reviewed Machado’s medical and legal 
records. She testified that she went over the criminal charges with Machado, 
and the potential pleas in such a case.

She discussed with Machado the trial phase, the penalty phase and the not 
guilty by reason of insanity plea. Goldsmith said she did not discuss with 
Machado the defendant’s version of the murder case, but Machado told her that 
he would be willing to discuss that with his attorneys.

Testimony in Machado’s mental competency hearing is expected to continue Jan. 
25. It was unclear Friday whether the judge will issue a ruling then.

Death penalty

Machado’s murder charge comes with a special-circumstance allegation that makes 
the case eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors have not informed the 
court whether they will seek it. Machado also is charged with first-degree 
robbery, carjacking and being a felon in possession of a gun.

The carjacking charge stems from an incident in Keyes about 10 minutes after 
Wallace’s shooting. A white Kia was carjacked. Machado was then identified as 
the suspect. Authorities issued an alert asking people to look for the car, a 
Kia Rio, and a statewide manhunt ensued. Machado was captured several hours 
later in Tulare County.

(source: Modesto Bee)








USA:

Judge Issues Warrant as Precaution Against Alleged MS-13 Defendant Also Facing 
Federal Charges



A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge has issued a no-bail bench warrant 
for Santa Maria homicide defendant Emedalio Bonilla-Mejia since he has been 
transferred to federal custody for charges linked to killings and other crimes 
in Ohio.

Judge John McGregor also severed the case of Bonilla-Mejia, 30, from the other 
11 defendants facing murder and other charges that law enforcement officials 
say involved a violent international gang known as MS-13.

The arrests of the defendants occurred in March 2016 in a multiagency effort 
dubbed Operation Matador led by the Santa Maria Police Department. The 
defendants have been linked to 10 homicides and 14 attempted murders in the 
Santa Maria Valley.

McGregor’s rulings occurred as the 11 defendants and 12 defense attorneys 
appeared in court Friday morning when the judge also announced that he intended 
to close the courtroom for some hearings early next month.

At the request of the prosecution team led by Senior Deputy District Attorney 
Ann Bramsen, McGregor issued a bench warrant for Bonilla-Mejia on Friday as a 
precaution.

In mid-December, the defendant, who had been in the Santa Barbara County Jail, 
was taken into federal custody in connection with a case in Ohio’s Southern 
District.

Bonilla-Mejia was one of 23 people alleged to be members and associates of the 
Columbus clique of MS-13 in what federal officials called a racketeering 
conspiracy case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The federal grand 
jury indictment from February 2018 alleged five murders as well as attempted 
murder, extortion, money laundering, drug trafficking,, witness intimidation 
and more.

Bonilla-Mejia faces five federal charges, some of which make him eligible for 
the death penalty if convicted. He also has been charged with 49 counts in the 
Santa Maria case.

Bramsen argued that a warrant was necessary to ensure that Bonilla-Mejia 
remained in custody despite the outcome of the federal case.

Defense attorney Tom Allen argued against the prosecution motion, leading to 
several testy exchanges between him and the judge.

With his client’s chair empty, Allen said Bonilla-Mejia was involuntarily 
removed from county jail and placed in federal custody. The defense attorney 
also alleged that the District Attorney’s Office agreed to his client’s 
transfer to federal custody.

“To me, it’s a flagrant interference between an attorney and his client,” Allen 
said, adding that he has been severely hampered in his efforts to represent 
Bonilla-Mejia since the attorney can’t turn to ask his client a question.

Noting that Bonilla-Mejia now has been indicted by two grand juries in separate 
cases, Bramsen said the fault for the situation rests with the defendant's 
conduct.

“That’s the reason he’s not here, plain and simple,” Bramsen said.

The judge asked how long the federal case might take.

“It could be 2 years or 10 years. We don’t know. It’s out of the state’s 
control,” Bramsen said.

At Bramsen’s request, the judge also agreed that there had not been 
prosecutorial misconduct as alleged by Allen.

In making his ruling to sever the case, McGregor said he had to consider the 
administration of justice and protection of other defendant’s rights.

Later, the judge issued a mixed ruling — agreeing some motions would be heard 
in a public hearing set to begin at 9 a.m. Feb. 4. However, hearings related to 
probable cause, or evidence, and other issues would occur in a closed session, 
McGregor said.

So far, most of the evidence has remained secret since court officials have 
sealed grand jury transcripts.

>From comments made in court Friday, defense attorneys apparently will challenge 
cell tower data, wire tapping information amid other evidence.

The judge also vacated a May 20 trial date as all defendants now have waived 
time for a trial through 2019.

(source: noozhawk.com)