Mudslinging marks death penalty murder case
April 03, 2002
By Glenn Chapman STAFF WRITER
During a courtroom exchange spiced with expletives, Daniel Horowitz bad-mouthed Deputy District Attorney Michael Nieto, questioned the good sense of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Philip Sarkisian, and referred to Green as having the IQ of "a retard."
Green's grim countenance slackened to a befuddled look as Horowitz assured jurors of the convicted killer's lack of intelligence.
"I don't know if he is or is not a retard," Horowitz said of Green. "He has a low IQ."
Horowitz insisted on testifying after Nieto asked another witness, Green's sister, what she thought of Green's menacing courtroom outburst the day after jurors convicted him March 12.
The jury had found Green guilty of murdering 27-year-old Charles Hass and trying to murder Aaron Merritt after the pair stepped out of a Peralta Street liquor store Jan. 27, 2001. Green stabbed Hass in the heart and knifed Merritt in the lung during a failed attempt to rob Hass, according to evidence presented in court.
At a March 13 hearing, Green jerked at his shackles, cursed at the judge and threatened Nieto. The hearing was conducted without the jury present.
Before leading Green into the courtroom that day, a bailiff noticed he had wriggled out of the waist chain to which his wrists were linked. Green had reportedly slipped off the belt part of his restraints on two previous occasions.
While lashing out at Nieto, Horowitz said the prosecutor knew Green was simmering with anger that day and grinned to provoke Green into boiling over. Nieto asked Horowitz whether he recalled saying he agreed with the insults Green unleashed on Nieto.
"I don't recall calling you a (expletive)," Horowitz responded, prompting Judge Sarkisian to bury his face in both palms for a moment, then roll his eyes toward the ceiling. "I do think you are...ambitious and don't really understand where you are right now, standing there looking at me."
Horowitz accused Nieto of threatening him by implying the defense attorney might face repercussions for his behavior during the trial. Horowitz also claimed that Nieto had blacks excluded from the jury in a case where the victims are white and Green is African American.
Sarkisian ruled early in the trial that the accusation was unfounded and denied a motion by Horowitz regarding the charge.
"I disagree with the way the judge handled that," Horowitz said. "You still did it...you know it, and I know it."
Nieto, who is of Puerto Rican ancestry, asked Horowitz to explain why he told jurors that Nieto might use a pinata as a prop and why he compared Nieto to "a matador."
"I referred to you as a matador with a bull, teasing it so you could finally kill it," Horowitz replied. "It's not like I had it out for you, I just think you go too far."
Horowitz added that he mistook a Russian nesting doll on the prosecutor's table for a pinata. Horowitz met Nieto's yes-or-no questions with lengthy diatribes. An attempt by Nieto to rein in the answers was rebuffed with "Don't interrupt me sir, I'm not an 18-year-old girl."
Horowitz's witness stand orations came as the defense began presenting evidence intended to convince jurors to spare Green, a 45-year-old career criminal and prison gang member, from the death penalty.
"I hated doing that," Horowitz said of testifying.
Members of Green's family took the stand Tuesday to describe Green as a sensitive, religious father-figure who was a guardian angel to those close to him.
"It's terrible out there," Green's 18-year-old surrogate niece, Charlie Barry, said of her Brookfield Village neighborhood. "Some of my friends got killed because they didn't have people like him looking out for them."
Barry referred to Green as a "bodyguard" and said her mother had a drug problem until Green warned drug dealers not to sell to the woman.
"They never approached her again and she got in a program," Barry said.
Barry testified she knew nothing of Green's criminal history, which includes robbery and shooting a woman dead with an assault rifle.
"I love everything about him," Barry said. "He's like a father to me."
Green's sister, Ruthie Bennett, described Green as an "emotional guy" who has helped care for children.
Correspondent Monica Sagullo contributed to this report.