A Westmoreland County jury Thursday convicted an illegal Mexican immigrant for the attempted carjacking of a Monroeville woman and her 10-year-old daughter from a Murrsyville parking lot.
The jury deliberated for more than four hours before convicting Noe Tovar Baltazar of one felony count of attempted robbery of a motor vehicle. Baltazar, 24, was accused of getting in the passenger’s seat of a car driven by Rachel Riedel on March 18 in the parking lot of the Village of Murrysville shopping plaza.
Riedel’s daughter fought back, kicking, screaming and elbowing Baltazar in the stomach to get him out of the vehicle. Police found Baltazar minutes later, hiding behind a trash bin.
The defense argued that the prosecution could not prove that Baltazar intended to steal the car.
But Assistant District Attorney Mike Pacek told the jury that Baltazar had no other reason for jumping into the passenger’s seat and grabbing for the keys or steering wheel.
“Nobody knows his intention, but you can only judge his actions. He was waiting for that car to start. Getting in on the passenger’s side is classic action. He could have held that little girl hostage,” Pacek said.
Riedel testified that she jumped from the car to scream for help. She told jurors she feared that Baltazar would force her to drive away and would harm her daughter.
The defense argued that Baltazar was drunk and stumbled into the car without knowing what he was doing. Baltazar testified through a translator that he did not remember the incident because he was intoxicated after drinking as much as a case of beer earlier that day.
“Rachel Riedel was afraid, and her fear caused her to just see something that wasn’t there,” Public Defender Donna McClelland told jurors. “This man was essentially beaten up by a 10-year-old girl. If he wanted to steal the car, would he have been deterred by a 10-year-old girl?”
“There is a bias and a prejudice against Mexicans, maybe some biases, fears and stereotypes of Mr. Baltazar,” McClelland told jurors in her closing.
McClelland was asked whether she thought Baltazar’s nationality was a factor in his conviction. “I certainly hope not,” McClelland said.
Pacek said the prosecution was not predicated on Baltazar’s ethnicity. “We would have prosecuted any defendant just as vigorously,” he said.
Baltazar faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in three months by Judge Al Bell. Pacek said he would seek a sentence of three to six years of imprisonment, the same sentence offered in a plea bargain deal rejected before the trial.
Baltazar has two prior convictions for drunken driving while living in Georgia in 2006, according to Pacek.
Baltazar, who has been in jail since his arrest, will be held in lieu of a $50,000 bond, pending his sentencing.
Since his arrest, a federal detainer has been placed against him over his immigration status.
Baltazar testified that he came to the United States eight years ago, with prior stops in Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. He arrived in Westmoreland County last year to work as a dishwasher for a Delmont-area Chinese restaurant. Baltazar told jurors he was among several illegal immigrants who worked for cash at the restaurant and lived rent-free in the home of the business owner.
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