Witnesses Testify in Moore Trial

November 17, 2009

Two witnesses in the robbery trial of Eric Moore, left, testified before Judge Anthony Aloi at the Onondaga County Courthouse this afternoon. Assistant District Attorney Michael Kasmarek presented his case before the jury, questioning Syracuse Police Department Evidence Technician Shawn Mehlek and victim Lissette Tejeda.

“I’ve got nothing to hide,” Moore said to reporters during a recess in the trial. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know after this is all over whether I'm at the Justice Center or on the street."


Moore, 35, is on trial for the burglary of Tejeda’s home at 2012 Bellevue Avenue on the southwest side of Syracuse on Aug. 19, 2008. His brother, Charles Moore, pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary last Thursday in exchange for a five-year sentence.


An officer at the scene on the morning of Aug. 19 told Mehlek that three men wearing gloves with bandanas over their faces broke into Tejeda's home and ransacked the house, taking $500 in cash, Mehlek said.


“No prints were left behind,” Mehlek said.


After Mehlek's testimony, Kasmarek called Tejeda to the stand. She identified Moore as one of the three men wearing bandanas over their faces who broke into her home and as the man who entered her bedroom and duct taped her hands and mouth.


“When he turned his head he exposed his face I recognized who it was,” Tejeda said. “I said ‘Eric, why are you doing this to me?’ and he said 'my name is not Eric, bitch.'"


Tejeda told Kasmarek that after one of the three men brought Tejeda's daughters, Elizabeth, 8, and Liandra, 10, into her bedroom, Tejeda told them the money was located in her bedroom closet. After three men left with the money, Tejeda's daughters helped take the duct tape off their mother and find a phone to call 911, Tejeda said.


"He told me not to call the police or else he would be back," Tejeda said.

Victim Identifies Family Friend as Robber (11/18/09)

Lissette Tejeda testified today at the Onondaga County Criminal Courthouse against a man she called a family friend. Eric Moore (pictured right), 35, is facing charges of first-degree burglary and robbery for stealing more than $500 from Tejeda’s home at 2012 Bellevue Ave in August, 2008. Moore and two other men used duct tape and a gun to threaten Tejeda while taking the money from her closet, she said.

Tejeda pointed to Moore across the courtroom today to identify him as the man who held the gun to her head the night of the robbery. “I said to him, ‘Eric, why you doin’ this to me?,’” Tejeda said, “He said, ‘My name is not Eric bitch, that’s not my name.’”

Tejeda’s fiancé had been friends with Moore, so she and Moore had seen each other at least three times before, she said. Tejeda also had previous connections to Moore’s brother Charles Moore, who was one of the other two robbers, she said. Charles Moore pleaded guilty last week to attempted first-degree burglary.

Tejeda was emotional on the witness stand as prosecutor Michael Kasmarek questioned her about injuries from the duct tape Eric Moore used to bind her hands, feet and mouth. “I felt it must have been a nightmare,” she said through tears, “I wanted to wake up.”

Sitting next to defense attorney Paul Carey, Eric Moore continuously shook his head throughout Tejeda’s testimony. “I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said outside the courtroom.

Victim Takes Stand in Burglary Case

November 17, 2009

The victim of a home burglary took the stand in trial against defendant Eric Moore, 35. Lissette Tejeda was distraught when Assistant District Attorney Michael Kasmarek asked her to recollect the early morning of Aug. 19^th, 2008. That morning around 3 a.m. Tejeda had her arms and mouth taped, while three men ransacked her home at 2012 Bellevue Ave, in southwest Syracuse.

Tejeda replayed the events of that night, telling the jury the sequence of events. When part of the intruders face became visible Tejeda said, “Eric, why are you doing this to me?”Tejeda claims he then replied, “my name’s not Eric, bitch.”

Tejeda words became jumbled, just like her story. “101 things went through my mind when this was taking place,” Tejeda said. She claimed she showed the shoebox full of money to the intruder after seeing her daughter duct taped. Then she asked the prosecutor to repeat the question, then answered she showed the money to the burglars after seeing both her children captive.

Tejeda slipped up while explaining her “stash area.” When describing what her stolen $500 was for, she took a long pause before saying car payments. She said the reason she stored money in the wall is because her relatives tend to steal from her.

Evidence technician Shawn Mehlek testified. Defense attorney Paul Carey attempted to show an uncomprehensive police inspection of the crime scene. When asked if the police did a standard grid by grid inspection, Mehlek replied no. Carey also asked why the police report did not include the intruders wearing gloves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Invasion Victim Testifies

November 17, 2009


Lissette Tejeda (Facebook picture at left) looked at the ceiling of the County Courtroom, shook her hands and fought back tears as she faced the second man accused of her home invasion on August 19, 2008. “I would have done anything to get them out of my house,” Tejeda said of the night in which she said three men had entered her home, held a gun to her head and robbed her.

At three in the morning on August 19, 2008 in her home on Bellevue Avenue, Tejeda woke to three men in her room, rustling through her drawers and closet, she said. Eric Moore, a friend of her spouse, climbed on top of her and duct tapped her mouth and wrists before smothering her with a pillow. The three men then went and woke Tejeda’s two daughters before leaving with $500 dollars from Tejeda's closet, Tejeda said under direct examination by the prosecution.

Defense Attorney Paul Carey, who is representing Moore, has yet to cross-examine Tejeda. In the cross-examination of Syracuse Police Department Evidence Technician Shawn Mehlek, Carey emphasized drug dealer rip-offs and the three men’s search for the specific stash of money.

Just last week, Eric Moore’s brother Charles Moore was the first of the three accused who pleaded out of the crime with a promised sentence of five years in prison. If convicted Eric Moore could face 25 years in prison. The third man accused in the case has not been identified. “To this day I still don’t know who it is,” Tejeda said.

Victim Identifies Home Invasion Robber

November 18, 2009

The victim of a home-invasion robbery identified one of its participants while testifying in Onondaga County Court this afternoon. Lissette Tejeda said Eric Moore (right), 35, of Syracuse, robbed her 2012 Bellevue Ave. home on Aug. 19, 2008.

Tejeda said she woke to Moore climbing into her bed while two men stood behind him. Moore then taped her hands together, pulled out a gun, and sat on her while repeating he was there for a shoebox filled with money.

Tejeda said she could not identify the men because of bandanas over their faces, until Moore’s face became partially exposed. Tejeda immediately said she recognized him as a friend of her spouse who was in prison at the time.

“I asked, ‘Eric, why are you doing this to me?’” she said. “When I said his name, he looked back at me and said, ‘My name isn’t Eric, bitch. That’s not my name.’”

Tejeda was then able to identify another robber as Eric’s brother, Charles, by how “he sort of drags himself as he walks,” she said. Charles Moore, 33, of Syracuse, pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted first-degree burglary, Chief Clerk Patricia J. Noll said.

After the robbers stole $500, she called the police even though Eric Moore told her not to or he would be back, Tejeda said. However, when Syracuse Police arrived, Tejeda did not identify Eric Moore out of fear, she said. On the witness stand, Tejeda fought back tears as she repeated, “I was scared. I was scared. I was scared. I was scared.”

Victim Testifies Against Robber from 2008

November 17, 2009

A woman police say was the victim of a home invasion in Syracuse pointed at the defendant in a Syracuse courtroom Tuesday and said he is guilty of the crime.

On August 19, 2008, Lissette Tejeda reported a break-in at her home at 2012 Bellevue Ave. She later reported one of the three men who broke in was Eric Moore. Moore is on trial for robbery and burglary.

During a trial break, Moore declined to talk about case details, but assured reporters they could find him after the trial concludes. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to hear after this is all over, whether I’m at the Justice Center or on the street,” he told student reporters. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

After Moore professed his innocence outside the courtroom, Assistant District Attorney Michael Kasmarek called Tejeda to the stand to recall the night of the crime. Tejeda said that Moore, Moore’s brother Charles, and an unidentified man broke into her home, held her at gunpoint and stole $500 from her. 


During Tejeda’s testimony, Moore made his frustration known at some of her details. He snickered to himself and shook his head as Tejeda said she saw Moore in her rearview mirror a week after the incident and that he drove his car next to hers to threaten her.

Tejeda finished that the crime has affected her, especially in her own home. “I was scared. I was scared. I was scared. I was scared,” she said.

Victim Tears Up Testifying

By Brenda Leung
November, 17, 2009

Lissette Tejeda pointed at Eric Moore in Onondaga County Court this afternoon and said he is one of three men who broke into her home and robbed her last year.

Eric’s brother Charles pleaded guilty last week and the third man has not been identified, but before Tejeda testified Eric Moore told reporters outside the courtroom that he is innocent and she is a liar. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know when this is over, whether I'm in the Justice Center or on the street," he said.

Early Aug. 19, 2008, Tejeda woke up at home on 2012 Bellevue Ave. with three masked men in the bedroom.

"He [Eric] told me this is not a joke," Tejeda said. The three men invaded her house threatened her for a shoebox containing $500 cash. Tejeda finally gave them the money hid in the closet.

"I would have given anything to get them out," Tejeda said. While fighting back tears, Tejeda recalled the night of the robbery and pointed at Eric Moore during the trial, identified him as the robber sitting on top of her with a gun.

Tejeda said she knew it was Eric when his head turned and part of his face exposed. She also mentioned Eric following her in his car later after the robbery, but he denied by shaking his head.

Tejeda said she is still scared in her own home even though a new security system has been installed.

Defense attorney Paul Cary is to cross-examine her after a short recess.