Murder suspect's fingerprints on beer can, truck door
Michael Angelo Sanudo's fingerprints were found on a Budweiser beer can in the alley street where Willie Dean Roberts Jr. allegedly was beaten and robbed before being dragged under a pickup, a fingerprint analyst testified Tuesday in Sutter County Superior Court.
Sanudo and Aaron Richard Ouellette are charged with the September 2007 murder of the 32-year-old Roberts. The trial, now in its second week, will continue today.
Another of Sanudo's fingerprints was on the passenger side door frame of the truck under which Roberts' body was found, said Javier Farias, a latent fingerprint analyst with the state Department of Justice.
Ouellette's blood alcohol concentration could have been as high as .19, and Sanudo's as high as .15 at the time of the alleged attack on Roberts, said John Knapp, director of West Sacramento-based Valley Toxicology Services, which tests blood and urine samples for police.
The estimate was based on blood samples taken from the defendants about 6:30 a.m. Sept. 29, about six hours after Roberts was found dead.
Roberts' blood alcohol content was .19, more than twice the legal limit for driving, according to previous testimony by pathologist Gregory Reiber.
Roberts was riding his bicycle on La Colina Lane on Yuba City's northwest side just before he was killed.
Sanudo's attorney, David Vasquez, asked Knapp if someone with a blood alcohol concentration of .19 would be capable of fighting.
"Yeah, sure," Knapp answered. "They might get mad and take a swing at somebody."
With a blood alcohol concentration of .19, a victim, once knocked to the ground, might have trouble getting back up, Knapp said.
Witnesses last week said two men hit and kicked Roberts into unconsciousness on La Colina Lane before running over him with the pickup and dragging him around the block.
No blood was found on Sanudo's or Ouellette's clothing or shoes, Farias testified.
Vasquez asked how that would be possible if the defendants "stomped" Roberts as alleged. He pointed to bloody autopsy photos.
Farias responded that Roberts may not have had blood on his skin or clothing at the time of the alleged beating.
Prosecutors hope to prove Roberts' killing was gang-related.
Yuba City Police Department Officer Stephanie Bridges said she searched Sanudo's cell at the Sutter County Jail in March 2008 and confiscated an eight-page letter detailing the history of the Norteños street gang.
Sanudo and Ouellette are alleged members of the gang.
"All you were looking for was the bad stuff?" and leaving other items such as photos of Sanudo's children, Vasquez asked.
"I don't know why that's relevant," Judge H. Ted Hansen said about Vasquez's question. That would be like police failing to seize sugar while looking for a white powdery drug, the judge said.
Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.
