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Jury deliberations today in Cepeda retrial
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Posted on Oct 07 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
Superior Court jurors are expected to commence today, Friday, their deliberations in the retrial of Franklin Cabrera Cepeda Jr. for the 1999 murder of a businessman inside a karaoke bar in San Jose.
Defense counsel Colin Thompson rested their case yesterday afternoon.
Associate judge Perry B. Inos directed the six jurors to return today, Friday, at 9am to start deliberations.
Thompson and prosecutors Russell Lorfing and Peter B. Prestley gave their closing arguments yesterday afternoon.
Prestley said evidence shows that Cepeda came up with the plan to rob, he took a baseball bat and a knife, and he killed Rong Zhou, also known as Matthew, inside the Yellow House Karaoke on March 1, 1999.
Prestley cited the testimonies of Cepeda’s co-defendant, George Ilo, and witnesses Benjie Fitial and Melvin Cabrera as very strong evidence against Cepeda.
Thompson argued that the prosecution failed to meet the burden to prove each element of the crimes filed against Cepeda.
Thompson said the testimonies and evidence of the government are unreliable and uncorroborated.
Thompson described the government’s witnesses-Ilo, Fitial, and Cabrera-as liars.
The defense lawyer said he can’t understand that in this one murder case, there was an investigation in 2000 and another in 2003.
Thompson was referring to the Office of the Attorney General’s filing in 2000 of charges against Jeffrey Deleon Guerrero, who was subsequently acquitted, and the filing of charges in 2003 against Cepeda and Ilo.
Ilo pleaded guilty, while Cepeda was found guilty during a trial in 2005. The CNMI Supreme Court, however, vacated Cepeda’s convictions and ordered a new trial.
