La Plata, MD – As the troubling attempted first-degree murder jury trial of Elias Alvarado Rosas, 38 of White Plains, enters its third day before Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West, defense attorney Robin Ficker must feel as though he’s caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Rosas is accused of stabbing Herdandez Sanchez June 4, 2014.
On the face of it, it would be hard for the jury not to find him guilty.
Sanchez showed the jury the deep gash on his arm and a stab wound on his chest during his testimony Sept. 24.
Mitigating factors are where the devil gets in the details.
Sanchez lived with Rosas, his wife and two small children for four years, part of a Hispanic community of workers who worked at Williford Farm in White Plains.
In March of 2014, Rosas’ wife accused Sanchez of raping her at knifepoint.
Rosas kicked Sanchez out of the trailer where he lived after learning of the allegation.
The use of the weapon during the rape is a detail Charles County Assistant State’s Attorneys Tiffany Campbell and Sarah Freeman have tried to keep away from the jury, but that fact leaked out on three separate occasions, once when Ficker brought it up in questioning—despite an objection by the state, sustained by West—and twice more when Rosas took the witness stand.
When Rosas brought the fact out, objections were raised and the jury removed from the court room while West once again instructed the defense to not bring up details of the rape.
The judge instructed the jury upon its return to ignore testimony regarding a knife.
Meanwhile, Rosas’ wife and two children have been camped outside of the courtroom throughout the trial, which began Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The two children have been greeting jurors and others enthusiastically as they enter court.
Rosas, breaking down during his dramatic testimony Sept. 23, said he was trying to protect his family after he and wife took out a protection order against the former roommate, who on at least three occasions violated the peace order by trying to allegedly break into the family’s trailer.
Calls to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office proved frustrating to the couple, who called police, yet nothing ever happened to the man they felt was threatening them.
Freeman countered by revealing that the couple failed to appear in court regarding Sanchez’ violation of protection order hearing, but Ficker was able to discern through Rosas’ testimony that his client did not receive the notice of the hearing until the day after it was held because they were spending nights at the Deluxe Inn in La Plata for fear of being at their home.
Ficker has been able to produce evidence that the couple were so much in fear of their lives after Rosas’ wife testified that Sanchez threatened her family when the rape took place, saying that if she told anyone of the incident he would harm them.
The state clearly has the law on its side, but Ficker appears to be playing on the emotions of the jury in an attempt to appeal to the plight of a family at its wit’s end with the response to their accusations of Sanchez’s actions toward them, and their frustration at going through law enforcement and the courts for relief.
The stabbing occurred at Williford Farm June 4 when Sanchez was using a port-o-potty and Rosas, according to the testimony of the victim and his friends, yanked open the bathroom door and assaulted Sanchez with a knife.
Ficker claimed in opening arguments that Sanchez punched Rosas in the mouth, prompting retaliation.
Two interpreters have been on hand throughout the trial to disseminate testimony to the jury and judge.
Closing arguments are expected Thursday.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com