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Man in burglary, theft case is found not guilty
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Posted on Oct 06 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
A Superior Court jury yesterday afternoon found Ronald R. Kaipat not guilty of charges relating to the theft of typhoon shutters from a gasoline station’s storage room in San Jose in January this year.
After less than four hours of deliberation, the jurors unanimously acquitted Kaipat of burglary and theft charges.
“Very good!” a smiling Kaipat said when reporters asked him for comments as he emerged from the courtroom.
Defense attorney Douglas Cushnie said the jurors did a “a good job,” listening intently to the testimonies and coming out “with the right decision.”
Assistant attorney general Tiberius Mocanu expressed disappointment with the verdict but said they are thankful to the witnesses who were brave enough to testify.
He said the Office of the Attorney General will continue to aggressively prosecute burglary and theft cases, which are becoming an epidemic in the Commonwealth.
Mocanu was assisted by assistant attorney general Nicole Driscoll in the Kaipat trial.
Associate judge David A. Wiseman presided over the case that began Monday. The following day, Tuesday, the prosecution rested its case.
During trial, Kaipat’s co-defendant Daniel D. Delos Santos, who has already pleaded guilty and is now serving time, testified for the defense, saying his companion was another male minor and not Kaipat.
A government’s witness had testified Monday that he recognized Kaipat and Delos Santos as the two persons who burglarized the storage room of the Mobil gas station and stole the typhoon shutters in the early morning on Jan. 23, 2011.
The witness said he saw Kaipat and Delos Santos from the window of his apartment, located near the storage room. He then led a responding police officer to the homes of the suspects.
Police recovered 30 pieces of the stolen shutters stacked on a wooden table at the back portion of Modern Stationary.
Police officers arrested Delos Santos at his residence in San Jose, while Kaipat was picked up near the former Morgan’s Building.
Delos Santos pleaded guilty and has been serving an 18-month year jail term.
