HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Supreme Court of Guam denied a request for a new trial for convicted murderer Joshua Palacios.
On Thursday, Supreme Court of Guam justices issued a decision and order for Palacios’ appeal of a murder conviction after Palacios was found guilty in the 2019 murder of Keith Castro.
Palacios’ appellate attorney in the December 2022 oral arguments requested Palacios be granted a new trial because videos posted on social media were excluded from Palacios’ trial.
According to Post files, the videos showed Palacios’ co-defendant, Thomas Taitano, murdered Castro over information he had about a child prostitution ring. Attorney Braddock J. Huesman argued the video was the motive for Taitano shooting Castro.
The appellate judges sided with the trial court in excluding the videos because Palacios was given the opportunity to present the alternate theory of the crime.
“Palacios was not denied the opportunity to present an alternate theory of the crime,” the order stated. “What he was denied, for concern it would mislead or confuse the jury, was the introduction of certain video evidence that, whatever it suggested about the ill will others had for Castro, did not prove anyone other than Palacios himself had a hand in Castro’s murder.”
Two other points of argument for a new trial were because witnesses called to testify asserted their Fifth Amendment privilege and individuals over the age of 65 were excluded from jury selection.
With witnesses pleading the Fifth, justices found the trial court should have taken a closer look into what testimony could consist of, rather than not allowing them to testify at all. The Supreme Court found there still was no harm done to Palacios.
As for excluding jurors over the age of 65, the Supreme Court noted, although Guam law allows for the exclusion, the trial taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic played a role and was only a temporary exclusion.
Conviction
Palacios was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 after he was found guilty of killing Castro.
According to The Guam Daily Post files, Taitano struck Castro multiple times with a baton as the pair fought at a Yigo residence. Palacios then shot Castro.
Prior to Palacios’ trial, Taitano pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault in the case and testified against Palacios as the government’s star witness.
Joshua Palacios was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole Feb. 24, 2021, after he was convicted in the 2019 deadly shooting of Keith Castro.
