West Palm Beach Criminal Lawyer Blog : Ronald Chapman: West Palm Beach Criminal Lawyer | Florida Criminal Attorney: DUI, Assault & Battery, Felonies | Criminal Law Firm

          In the courts of Florida, heat of passion is recognized as a defense to the crimes of first and second-degree murder.

          Heat of passion is a mental state provoked by fear, rage, anger or terror that, combined with adequate provocation, is a defense to the crimes of first and second degree murder. Provocation, in order to be adequate, must be such as might naturally cause a reasonable person in the passion of the moment to lose self-control and act on impulse and without reflection.

          An example of someone who relied upon the heat of passion defense occurred in the case of Villella v. State of Florida.  In that case, Mr. Villella, who was charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, argued that the stabbing of his wife was not premeditated but was instead a crime of passion committed after he learned that his wife was having an affair and intended to leave him and take their child with her.

          The jury heard Villella's two tape-recorded interviews with the police in which he told them that he suspected his wife was having an affair because she was making and receiving unusual telephone calls.  He also told the police that she was staying out late drinking and was, on one of those occasions, driven home by another man.  In addition, Villella found an intimate letter written by his wife to the man who had driven her home.  When Villella confronted his wife with his suspicions, she admitted that she was indeed having an affair with that same man.

          Tthe trial judge did not, however, let the jury hear any evidence about the fact that the man whom Ms. Villella was having an affair with had previously admitted that he had had such an affair and that he had driven her home on one occasion.  The judge refused to let the jury hear that evidence because he believed it was irrelevant. 

          Villella was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and appealed his conviction to Florida's Fifth Distict Court of Appeal.

          Fortunately for Mr. Villella, the appellate court disagreed with the trial judge and granted Villella a new trial since it believed that such evidence would have corroborated Villella's statements to the police that his wife was having an affair and that it would also have shown that his belief that his wife was having an affair had merit to it and was not simply a lie made up in an attempt to get away with murder.

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By Michelle Gentile
Staff writer

JUPITER — A co-defendant in the shooting trial of a 21-year-old Jupiter man arranged a plea deal with prosecutors and testified against the man who the jury considered the principal in the murder.

Both defendants in the murder case of Denny Rowland paid a price.

In a trial that began April 7, Zachary Zeman was found guilty of first-degree murder and three other serious felonies last week.

The other co-defendant, Rikardo Alvarenga, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and will spend his 20s, and most of his 30s, in jail for a mistake that he said leaves him crushed and remorseful.

“He’s so very sorry Denny died that night and that this ever happened,” said Ron Chapman, Mr. Alvarenga’s attorney. “It has wreaked havoc on all the families involved and it’s just a tragedy.”

Mr. Alvarenga was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week, and since he has already served two years, that will make him eligible for parole when he is around 37.

“I don’t blame Ricky,” said Charla Las Casas, Mr. Rowland’s mother who testified against Mr. Zeman last week. “I knew Ricky didn’t have the heart to do this to my kid. He was forced by gunpoint.”

On the night of Feb 10, 2006, a trip to collect some money turned into homicide.

Police reports showed that Mr. Zeman and Ricky Alvarenga went to the home of Mr. Rowland to collect $140, reimbursement for a hotel room. While they were there, the two forced Mr. Rowland into his Jupiter home that he shared with his mother and brother, Joey, and demanded the money.

Ms. Las Casas was ordered, at gunpoint, to kneel with her head down but saw what transpired.

“It happened so quick. My thoughts were twirling and I knew who shot Denny. I knew who put the gun to my face and it was Zach,” said Ms. Las Casas.

During trial, there was confusion about who actually pulled the trigger.

Police reports, testimony and, ultimately, and the 12- panel jury indicated Mr. Zeman was the principal in the murder.

Also discussed during trial was the gun’s ownership.

The gun used to shoot Mr. Rowland was stolen from a Tampa man and Mr. Zeman had moved from Palm Beach County to Tampa.

Last words

“Mom, I think you need to call 911,” Mr. Rowland told his mother as he lay bleeding on the kitchen floor.

The bullet had entered into his right armpit, cleared through his right lung and severed his aorta. It came out his left lung, which is why he could not breathe, said Ms. Las Casas.

“What a horrific tragedy, as I watched my son get shot, and I sat with him, struggling to breathe, I knew from my nursing background he had only seconds to live,” she read to the judge during the victim’s impact statement.

Mr. Zeman shouted out, “What about what your son did to me? He shot me.”

Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga called a recess following her statement. Before the verdict was read, he cautioned spectators about any outbursts or “be arrested on the spot.”

Over the last two years, while in jail, Mr. Alvarenga and Mr. Zeman have been in altercations.

At one brief stint in the courthouse last year, Mr. Zeman jumped over a guard and attacked Mr. Alvarenga.

“As they were coming to court one day, Mr. Zeman hit him and as he walked into the courtroom it was obvious he was bruised,” said Mr. Chapman. “As long as they keep them in separate facilities, I think everything will be OK.”

Ms. Las Casas feels differently. She is worried for Mr. Alvarenga’s life and says that his life has been repeatedly threatened by Mr. Zeman.

“Ricky told me that Zach wrote on a kite (prison slang for note) that he was trying to hire two guys to kill Ricky in county jail,” said Ms. Las Casas. “I don’t want any danger for Ricky.”

Mr. Rowland was an aspiring song promoter and songwriter, who was good friends with Mr. Alvarenga.

More than 400 of his peers attended Mr. Rowland’s funeral and another 50 celebrated the second anniversary of his death.

“I’m still in disbelief over the death of my son. I just thought buying baby clothes, cribs and his clothes as he became an adult was just part of raising my son. I never believed, in a million years, that I would be buying a casket,” said Ms. Las Casas.

“I’m not a vengeful person and I don’t want harm coming to Zach or to Ricky, but I do need closure and that means the right punishment for (these kids) making the most stupid choice of their lives.”

“I can close a chapter of this book,” said Ms. Las Casas. “I’m on the way to healing now.”

Mr. Zeman is expected to be back in court for formal sentencing on June 12.

gentile@hometownnewsol.com

• A PDF printout of the original story is available here.

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By Michelle Gentile
Staff writer

JUPITER - For the first time since her son was murdered two years ago, Charla Las Casas is flying back to Jupiter. She wants to be there when attorneys start selecting the jury next week for one of two trials to be held in the murder of her son.

Denny Rowland, 21, died the morning of Feb. 10, 2006, after two men entered their Jupiter home and held her son at gunpoint and held her hostage, according to police reports. Later, her son died on the kitchen floor from gunshot wounds that hit his aorta.

"I was there for his last breath," said Ms. Las Casas. "His ashes will be with me in court where we'll await justice."

The only eyewitness in the killing, Ms. Las Casas will be able to tell what happened that night to the jurors to be picked on April 7.

Testifying in the future trial is also Jessie Sanchez, 21, Mr. Rowland's girlfriend at the time and someone who knew him since middle school. She was on the phone with him during the attack.

"I was on the phone when the shots were happening," said Ms. Sanchez. "Denny told me he'd been shot and to get over to his house."

Jury selection starts next week for the trial of the man responsible for pulling the trigger, Zachary Zeman, 22, who has been charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and burglary with a firearm.

The second trial will be for Rikardo Alvarenga, 22, also charged with first-degree murder and robbery. No date for that trial has been set.

Investigative findings and 405 pages of discovery documents will bring to light the events of that day.

"When he came home, Zach and Ricky ambushed him in the front yard," said Ms. Las Cases. "I don't know why Ricky did this, we befriended him. They (Denny and Ricky) were close. Ricky watched movies with us and ate dinner with us."

Mr. Rowland and Mr. Alvarenga were friends in high school, according to Ms. Las Casas, and a few years out of high school the two had gotten back in touch.

"Ricky was my son's friend who I think set him up with Zachary. The whole reason this took place was because my son was supposed to get paid a large sum of money from a record company," she said. "He hadn't picked up the check yet, but I believe they thought he did."

Mr. Rowland was an aspiring music promoter and songwriter and had an event promotion company called On Target Entertainment.

"He was looking forward to some day becoming a music artist," said Ms. Sanchez. "It was his big goal and he was going to try and make it."

A week prior to the shooting, Mr. Rowland, Mr. Alvarenga and one other person rented a hotel room and put the charges on Mr. Alvarenga's credit card. A third of that amount was approximately $50.

"Mr. Alvarenga gave a sworn, taped statement that Zachary Zeman and he went to Rowland's home during the early morning hours to collect a debt of $140 that Rowland allegedly owed Alvarenga," police reports show. "Mr. Alvarenga stated that Zeman kept the gun on his lap while both men waited outside the Rowlands' home for him to return."

"I was talking to him before it happened," said Ms. Sanchez. "He was walking up to his house when he was confronted by them."

Ms. Las Casas said when she looked outside she saw Mr. Alvarenga and her son, but didn't know who the other guy was.

"The expression on my son's face was pure terror," she said. "Being a mom, you never want to see that look on your child's face."

Ms. Las Casas opened the door to the two men and her son, when Mr. Zeman and Mr. Alvarenga forced their way into the home and made way for Mr. Rowland's bedroom.

Once at the bedroom Ms. Las Casas was forced to put her head down onto the mattress but heard several gunshots. After the shots, both men fled from the home. Ms. Las Casas went to the aid of her son, who died on the kitchen floor, police reports said.

"If I had known, I would have given (the gunman) $50 out of my pocket," said Ms. Las Casas. "Denny said he would pay him, but I didn't know he would pay with his life."

Just after 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 10, Jupiter Police officers found Mr. Rowland's body lying on the kitchen floor of his mother's home. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Shortly after the shooting, police received a call that a black pickup truck had dropped off a white male at Jupiter Medical Center's emergency room with a gunshot wound. Authorities later identified the man as Mr. Zeman.

Mr. Alvarenga told investigators he used his stepfather's pickup truck, because he knew no one would recognize the vehicle. He then drove Mr. Zeman to the Jupiter Inlet Waterway where he threw the firearm into the inlet.

"The prosecutor's theory is that he assisted him with the murder and therefore, they are seeking first-degree murder, even though Mr. Zeman did the shooting," said Ron Chapman, the defense attorney for Mr. Alvarenga.

Mr. Zeman is being defended by the public defender.

The defense for Mr. Alvarenga says it will evaluate how Mr. Zeman's trail goes and make adjustments based on that.

"He (Mr. Alvarenga) provided the gun and he set out to use his stepfather's car. It seems clear to me," said Ms. Las Casas.

With the home blocked off with yellow tape, detectives and investigators spent three days probing the house and surrounding area for evidence.

"There were over 400 kids who attended the funeral and I was told that over 50 people showed up for the Feb. 10, 2007 anniversary of his death," said Ms. Las Casas. "He was popular and very well liked."

The State Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case beginning April 7. They both have remained in jail since 2006.

"I definitely feel justice will be served and bring more closure to the entire situation," said Ms. Sanchez.

If convicted of the crimes they are charged, both Mr. Zeman and Mr. Alvarenga could serve a maximum of two life sentences.

"I've been waiting for this trial to begin for a long time," said Ms. Las Casas. "I just know that I can't move on (until) this is finished."

gentile@hometownnewsol.com

Shortly before this article appeared in the Hometown News, Rikardo Alvarenga entered into a plea agreement with the State Attorney's Office.  Part of that agreement included Mr. Alvarenga testifying for the prosecution at Zachary Zeman's trial.

• A PDF printout of the original story is available here.
  

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