PHILIPSBURG – Fifteen years of imprisonment. That is the demand the public prosecutor put to the Court in First Instance on Wednesday against Akil Amaru L. for allegedly stabbing 23-year old Gary Zorilla (see photo) to death during a fight at Diamond Hill on July 20 of last year.
Attorney Sjamira Roseburg asked the court however to acquit her client because nobody has seen her client do the stabbing and because there is a lack of legal and convincing evidence in the dossier. The court will pronounce its verdict on May 9.
The events that led to Zorilla’s death last summer started with a fight at the gas station on Bush Road. That’s where, according to Roseburg, Zorilla did the damage by beating up L.’s co-defendants, Ignacio André W. (24) and Jeremy Elihu Nathan S. (23).
The fight at the gas-station somehow fizzled and the two groups of young men who were involved went their own way. But later, there was another encounter at Diamond Hill. The defendants told the court that they had gone to that location with one car and that only the three of them – Akil L., Ignacio W. and Jeremy S. were present. But according to the public prosecutor, the three had drummed up reinforcements and they were at the Diamond Hill with six to eight people.
The prosecution has charged Akil L. with manslaughter of Gary Zorilla, with seriously injuring two others and with committing public violence. The last charge is the only one that applies to the other defendants, Ignacio W. and Jeremy S. The prosecutor later demanded a 1-month conditional prison sentence and 100 hours of community service against these two.
Injured parties, partially represented by attorney Geert Hatzmann, submitted claims for damages to the court for more than $10,000. The prosecutor later advised the court to grant these claims.
The prosecutor wondered “how to express the senselessness of the fight in words.” He noted that Zorilla was stabbed in a savage way. One other victim sustained perforated intestines and a third victim had several stab wounds.
The prosecutor did not believe the defendants when they said in unison that only the three of them had been at Diamond Hill. “That is not plausible, there were seven to eight people; you are attempting to protect others.”
The prosecutor also charged that the defendants had orchestrated their statements. “They had ample time to arrange them.”
W. and S. took a beating at the gas station on Bush Road. “They brought reinforcements; adrenaline was pumping and it did not take a lot to let things get out of control.”
One of the victims told investigators that he had seen Akil L. on top of Zorilla, but he had not seen the actual stabbing. But the prosecutor noted that Akil L.’s DNA had been found under Zorilla’s finger nails.
That is no surprise, Roseburg said in defense of her client. “They fought; my client does not deny that.”
The attorney’s first attempt to get all her clients of the hook was to ask the court to declare the prosecution inadmissible. This request is based on “tunnel vision, failure to investigate alternative scenarios, and asking witnesses leading questions.”
Roseburg also noted that one of the investigating police officers is a relative of Zorilla and that witnesses had received copies of the statements they made to the police.
“This case is tainted,” she concluded.
In case the court does not declare the prosecution inadmissible, Roseburg maintains that there is insufficient legal and convincing evidence to convict her client Akil L. for manslaughter. She conceded that there is proof for committing public violence and asked the court to acquit Akil L. of causing grievous bodily harm to two of the victims. She also asked the court to deny the claims for damages from the victims.
The court denied Roseburg’s request to terminate Akil L.’s pretrial detention. He has been incarcerated since July of last year.
Akil L. was the only one to use his right to the last word in this trial and his comment was brief and clear. “I did not stab or kill anyone.”
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Official Press Statement Prosecutor’s Office:
Diamond Hill stabbing
The Public Prosecutor requested a lengthy prison sentence of 15 years for A.L. (21), suspected of stabbing to death Garibaldi Zorilla during a heated brawl on Diamond Hill in Cole Bay in July 2017.
The Public Prosecutor has charged A.L. with the manslaughter of Zorilla, causing severe bodily injury to two other young men involved in the fight and public violence. The Public Prosecutor deemed these acts pointless acts of violence, in which a young man lost his life.
The Public Prosecutor found it proven that A.L. was the main aggressor and that he was the one in possession of the weapon used to stab Zorilla 7 times causing his death. A.L.’s DNA was found under the nails of Zorilla.
The Public Prosecutor pointed out that in spite of having two prior convictions and serving jail time, A.L. had not changed his behavior pattern and showed no remorse for his actions.
The Public Prosecutor requested a conditional prison term of 1 month and 100 hours community service for I.W. (25) and J.S (24), who was part of A.L.’s circle and were involved in public violence. The Public Prosecutor found that there was not enough evidence linking I.W. and J.S. to the manslaughter of Zorillla nor to the bodily injuries suffered by the two other victims.
