THE jurors, judge, prosecution, and defense in the second-degree murder case of Calvin Tagabuel visited the crime scene at Cool Laundry in Kagman on Wednesday afternoon
Tagabuel, 48, is accused of causing Lark Kasian’s death by delivering a single punch to Kasian’s face, rendering him unconscious and causing him to fall onto the concrete floor, where he struck the back of his head.
The jury trial started on Feb. 11.
On Wednesday morning, Cool Laundry cashiers Krizel Macaspac and Marites Cadag were called to testify.
Macaspac told the jury that she was the on-duty cashier at the time of the incident.
Asked why she did not call the police after the incident, Macaspac said, “I was surprised by the incident, and I didn’t know what to do. I was also afraid [because] if I called the police, he [Tagabuel] might come for me.”
Macaspac said she also asked Tagabuel if she should call the police, to which he responded, “No need, I just put him to sleep.”
“I don’t remember, whether the next day, or the day after, when I asked him what would happen because we did not call 911,” she said. “He [Tagabuel] told me that he also didn’t know what would happen [but] he had already talked to the police,” Macaspac added.
Cadag was the cashier who called 911 after seeing Kasian, 44, lying on the ground near the stairway when she arrived for her morning shift.
“At first, I thought he was not breathing, that is why I called 911,” Cadag said.
Pressed to elaborate, Cadag said, “I called my manager near the stairway, and when he [Kasian] heard me talking, he moved his left hand, bending it up and down while lying on the ground.”
Tagabuel is represented by attorney Joey McDoulett while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds and Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas are prosecuting the case.
In her opening statement, Barcinas said Tagabuel was charged with the unlawful killing of Kasian with malice afterthought. “To kill with malice afterthought means to kill either deliberately or [intentionally] with reckless disregard for human life,” she added.
McDoulett, for his part, said Tagabuel is a “father, a family man, a hard worker, a protector, and also an innocent man.”
McDoulett also told jurors that there is no evidence to prove that “a single punch resulted in [Kasian’s] catastrophic injuries,” adding that his client acted in self-defense.
Seven government witnesses have so far testified in the trial: George Babauta, DPS officer; Joseph Cing, EMT; Mary Louise Tanaka, DPS evidence custodian and crime scene technician; Shannon Dela Cruz, DPS detective; MD Jakir Hossain, Cool Laundry security guard; Krizel Macaspac and Marites Cadag; cashiers.
The jury trial will resume today, Thursday, Feb. 20, at 1:30 p.m.
Judge Joseph N. Camacho points to a spot at the entrance of Cool Laundry in Kagman. On Wednesday afternoon. Accompanying him is a CNMI Marshal.
Defense attorney Joey Mcdoulett with investigator Jeremy Wolfe at Cool Laundry on Wednesday afternoon.
Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds with other criminal division staffers at Cool Laundry on Wednesday afternoon.
Defense attorney Joey McDoulett stands with defendant Calvin Tagabuel at the entrance of Cool Laundry.
