Trial Advocacy & Moot Court

Fact Pattern: Carlos's case

Known elements:

1. Crime: Homicide.
2. Deceased: Andrew.
3. Accused: Carlos.
4. Date: 20 of July of 2023.
5. Place: Inside the “El Patron” supermarket.
6. Time: Between 23:00 and 23:30, the closing time of the supermarket.
7. Motive: Possible robbery.
8. Cause of death: A fire weapon wound, a 38 special projectile was recovered at the
scene.
9. The author of the crime left the scene in a red motorcycle, the license plate ending
in 8, according to a neighbor (witness).
10. The accused owns a red motorcycle whose license plate is AT-089.
11. According to the wife of the deceased, there was a wrestle, and then the gunshot
was heard.
12. Description of the possible author of the crime: Young man with a strong complexion
and military-style haircut, around 25 years old, 1,80 meters tall, and tan skin.
13. Physical description of the accused: A young man of 28 years old, 1,84 meters tall,
strong complexion, mustache, with a “Che Guevara” tattoo on his shoulder (size:
about 10 cm), short black hair, tan skin, also known as “El cholo.”
14. The accused has priors for drug possession.

Means of investigation (prosecution):

1. Police report.
2. Interview with the wife of the deceased.
3. Interview with the witness that lives in front of the supermarket.
4. Interview with a neighbor of the accused who listens to a conversation.

Means of investigation (defense):

1. Interview with the accused.

2. The accused's girlfriend was with him at the time of the events.
3. There was a poker game happening at the time; the accused was there with some
friends; there are two statements about this: One of the friends was asleep, and the
other left the residence before the time of the events because the alcohol was over,
so he left around 23:00.
 4. A ballistic expert discards the closeness of the shot wound because there is no mark
(tattoo).

Interview with the accused (Carlos)

- Young man
- 28 years old
- 1,84 meters tall
- Tan skin
- Short black hair
- Medium size eyes
- Round chin
- Distinctive features: mustache and Che Guevara Tattoo.
- Basketball player
- He lives by himself in his apartment (Address: North Highway – 100 Street)

About the facts, he states the following:

On the day of the events, I invited some friends and my girlfriend to play poker, and they
arrived around 20:00. Their names are Alfonso and Luis, and my girlfriend is named Janira.
I had bought Tequila, so we didn't have to leave the apartment. In fact, I never left the
apartment; even my girlfriend stayed that night. That night, I drank ten shots of tequila. I do
not own any firearms, and I didn't have anything to do with the death of Andrew. I am a
good athlete, play basketball, and practice motocross on weekends. For this, I use a
motorcycle that is under my name; it is red, and the license plate is AT-089.

Interview of Alfonso (August 20, 2023):

I am 27 years old, and I am a cab driver. I studied until high school when I met Carlos; we
were classmates. Since then, we have created a basketball team; we are like brothers. On
the 20th of July last year, I was working in my cab, and around 16:00, Carlos called me and
invited me to play poker. That night, I arrived at his apartment around 19:30, and we drank
tequila until it was over. I fell asleep around 23:00. We were there with Carlos's girlfriend,
Janira, and a friend called Luis. I don't understand why he is being investigated for that
murder if he was with us all night and he is incapable of doing such a thing. I remember that
he had his basketball uniform.

Interview of Luis (August 20, 2023):

I am 28 years old, a businessman, and I studied in high school with Carlos. We are good
friends. I understand he owns a basketball team sponsored by a company that is the
property of Milton, the father of Janira, Carlos's girlfriend. He is a nice guy. He called me and
invited me to play poker the night of the events. When I arrived at the apartment, his
girlfriend and Alfonso were there. We played and drank tequila until it was over. We drank
like two bottles. It was almost 23:00 when I decided to leave. Carlos offered to drop me off
on his motorcycle, but he was drunk, so I took a cab instead. They stayed playing at the
apartment. It surprises me that Carlos is being accused of the murder; he was with us the
whole time, plus he is incapable of something like that. He even helps orphanages through
his basketball team and is a good man.

Interview of Janira (August 20, 2023):

I am 23 years old and studying Business Administration at Duke. My father's name is Milton,
and he owns a company. I have known Carlos for five years, and we have been dating for
two. He is my fiancé, and we are going to get married. I am pregnant, but he doesn't know
it yet. I live at my parents' house but sometimes stay at Carlos's apartment. On the day of
the events, I spent some time with him and some friends, playing poker and drinking tequila.
Alfonso and Luis were there. The alcohol ran out, and Luis told us that he was leaving. Then
Alfonso fell asleep and spent the night on a sofa. My boyfriend never left the apartment,
even though he had been playing basketball in the afternoon and still had his uniform on.
There was a moment when he wanted to go and drop Luis off on his motorcycle, but I didn't
allow it. Then we went to bed together. I know Rebecca; she is Carlos's neighbor, and we
have had some issues. She is used to calling the police if Carlos plays music in the apartment.

Police report No. 282.

Homicide investigation: Andrew

Facts:

The events occurred on the 20th of July, approximately at 23:30, inside the “El Patron”
supermarket located at 172 Street with intersection # 50, where a male named Andrew
received a gunshot. The victim was closing his business when a young man entered the place
to steal merchandise and the cash register. The victim resisted the robbery and suffered
injuries from a gunshot that finally produced his death. Once the victim was reduced, the
assailant forced the cash register and took $4,000,000. He also took a bottle of tequila.

Police intervention:

“When the events were reported, I rushed to the place (“El Patron”) where I was received
by Mrs. Gloria, who stated that she was Mr. Andrew's wife. She stated that they were closing
the business when a young man pushed his husband inside and, with a revolver in his hand,
told him to give him the money. Her husband tried to calm him down, but he shot him a
single time and then forced the cash register and took $4,000,0000.
She was amazed by the fact that before leaving the supermarket, the assailant took a bottle
of Tequila “1800,” the only one that they sell.

As part of the police activity, I also interviewed people from the neighborhood to determine
if somebody else had seen something. While doing this, I talked with a man named Pablo,
who owns a bakery on the corner of the street where the events happen. He found it strange
that a young man had left a motorcycle on and then saw him approach the business to leave
five minutes later in the south direction. He stated that the motorcycle was red and big, and
the license plate ended in 8, but he didn't mention any other characteristics. About the
assailant, he described him as tanned, with a military-style haircut, around 1,80 meters tall,
dressed in jeans and a basketball t-shirt, and wearing ripped tennis shoes.

Three days later, through a 911 call, a woman stated that she lived on North Highway – 100
Street and that in the apartment located below hers, a couple was constantly fighting, and
the man was very violent. She was scared because he hit the woman named Janira. She is
also in shock because she heard him talk about a dead man, saying that he didn't want to
kill him, but he got scared and did it.

When I arrived at North Highway – 100 Street, I interviewed a woman of around 50 years
named Rebecca. In the beginning, she was scared and asked me to keep the meeting
confidential because her neighbor was a very violent man and always had signs of drug
consumption. She stated that the night before, she had heard a lot of noise coming from the
apartment and had decided to go and ask to keep it quiet, but when she got closer, she
listened to a man talking about a guy who had confronted him, but that his intention was
not to kill him.

After this, I interviewed the apartment residents (# 101). I was received by a 22-year-old girl
named Janira, who was surprised by my presence and called her neighbor an “old bitch”
that didn't allow them to live in peace. She stated that she lived with her boyfriend and that
they were eating and having drinks with friends on the night of the 20th of July. About her
boyfriend, she stated that he owns a basketball team and that motorcycles are his passion.
She also mentioned that the only thing that they have is an occasional tequila, nothing else.
She said her boyfriend's name was Carlos and gave me his ID number.

I noticed that the place was a mess and that several tequila bottles were scarred around;
when I questioned Janira about it, she said those were the bottles they had on the 20th of
July.

I ran a background check on Carlos and found that he was convicted of drug possession, and
he was also charged with robbery but was not convicted.

I interviewed Carlos, who was around 1,80 meters tall, was dressed in a basketball t-shirt,
and had a “Che Guevara” tattoo on one of his arms. I questioned him about the alleged
conversation about the guy that he killed, and he got very nervous. In the beginning, he was
silent, but then he denied it and pointed out that those were lies from his neighbor, that she
was crazy, and that is why her husband left her.

He states that he owns a red Honda motorcycle with a license plate AT-089. About the night
of the events, he says that he was playing poker with his friends and girlfriend and that
Alfonso and Luis can attest to that. They were playing with him all night.”

Guillermo (Police detective).

Interview of Rebecca (August 30, 2023)

She is from Bogota, Colombia. She is 52 years old and a housewife, currently separated from
Jose. About the events that are being investigated, she stated:

“On a morning of July, more precisely, the 24th of July, tired because I had heard all night
fights between Carlos and his girlfriend Janira, I woke up around 6:00 to ask them to shut
up. I live right above them, in apartment # 201. When I went down to knock on their door, I
heard the voice of a man, that I thought was Carlos, saying I had an issue with that man, but
I didn't want him to die. When I heard this, I ran back to my apartment and called 911.

About the relationship between Carlos and Janira, he is a possessive man; when he drinks
or smokes marihuana, he turns violent and hits her. I am worried because I also believe that
he is in shady business. For her, “he does more than just the basketball team, and she sees
him with friends that look the same.”

Interview of Pablo (August 26, 2023)

He is from Medellin, Colombia, and is a professional baker. About the night of the events,
he stated the following:

“I live at 172 Street with intersection # 50-01, and I have my bakery right there, called “La
Arepa.” On the night of the 20th of July, I was almost ready to close the bakery. I generally
close it around 22:00, but because it is a holiday, I close it a little later. At 23:00, a young
man arrived on a motorcycle; he stepped down but left it in front of my bakery but across
the street. I found this strange, and I thought he would enter one of the houses to pick
something, but he went straight to Andrew's business. I felt he would buy something quick,
so he left the motorcycle on. Three minutes later, I heard a gunshot and looked through the
window; I saw the young man with a bottle in his hand. He was running, he jumped on the
motorcycle and went south.

About his characteristics, I found it curious that he was wearing a basketball t-shirt because
it was cold at that time. He had short hair, but I didn't see anything else.
Interview of Gloria

About the events, she stated that:

‘My husband and I have a small supermarket, “El Patron,” where we sell vegetables,
essential foods, and some alcohol. It was around 23:00, and we were ready to close when a
young man pushed Andrew inside. He was very aggressive and told us that if we didn't want
to die, we should give him all the money that we had. Andrew told him to calm down, to
don't hurt us. Outside, a dog barked, and the man got distracted, so Andrew tried to take
the gun, and they wrestled for it until finally I heard a gunshot, and he fell. The man
immediately went for the cash register and forced it, took all the money out, and took a
bottle of tequila close to the exit.

I tried to help Andrew but couldn't, so I called a neighbor, and together, we took him to the
hospital.

Some days after, the police came and showed me a picture and it was similar to the man
that killed my husband; I just want justice to be served.