You may not believe what you see in these videos
Sep 25, 2008 9:04 am US/Eastern
Jury In "Joe Cool" Trial Deliberates For 3rd Day
Prosecutors Say Guillermo Zarabozo Was Part Of The Murder Plot
Defense Contends He Was A Victim Of Kirby Archer
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
-
-
Guillermo Zarabozo, one of the two men accused in the kidnapping and murder of the captain and crew of the Joe Cool charter fishing boat, took the stand Monday in his own defense.
CBS4
-
-
The Joe Cool, a miami-based charter boat found adrift off the coast fo Cuba 9/24, towed in 9/25/07. The crew ius missing, two passengers alive.
For a third day a federal jury in Miami will convene to deliberate the innocence or guilt of one of the men accused in kidnapping and murders of the captain and crew of the charter boat
Joe Cool.
During Wednesday's deliberations, the panel asked to review several exhibits and the transcript from a key prosecution witness.
Among the exhibits jurors requested: records detailing how Guillermo Zarabozo, 20 and Kirby Archer, 36, checked into several local hotels like the one on Miami Beach days prior to the hijacking of the
Joe Cool; records of other telephone calls made by Archer; photographs of the boat at sea after the killings.
The transcript requested was of the testimony given by Carlos Mulet, a Hialeah mechanic, who introduced Zarabozo to Archer and had first been recruited to help them steal a boat.
The judge allowed the exhibits to be reviewed, but not the transcript.
On the stand Mulet testified that he knew of the plot but did not take part in it. He told jurors he was ''the only other person'' besides Zarabozo and Archer who knew of their plan. Mulet said Zarabozo believed the hijacking was necessary to secure a 'mysterious big job' that Archer had promised him. Mulet said Archer, who had been a military policeman in Army, claimed he had connections with the CIA and had promised Zarabozo he could get him a one million dollar security job in the Bahamas. Mulet said he initially went along with the pair because he thought Archer's CIA connections could help him clear up his bad traffic record which had kept him from getting insurance. In the end, Mulet said, he decided not to accompany the pair because it meant that he have had to leave town and his family.
During closing arguments, prosecutors told the jury Zarabozo and Archer chartered the boat on September 22nd, 2007 for their phony trip to the Bahamas. Prosecutor Karen Gilbert said in reality the two men intended to hijack the boat and ultimately sail to Cuba because Archer was under investigation in Arkansas for theft and child sexual abuse.
Defense attorneys argued that Zarabozo was an unwitting participant in the crime and it was Archer who masterminded the hijacking and committed the murders. Archer, who has already pleaded guilty to the crimes, will be sentenced next month.
Taking the stand in his own defense, Zarabozo testified he was in the boat's bathroom when he heard shots and commotion. When he came out, he saw Archer holding Zarabozo's gun.
Zarabozo said Kirby ordered him at gunpoint to help throw the
Joe Cool crew members' bodies overboard and clean up the blood. He insisted he only helped throw the bodies overboard because he was scared that Archer would kill him. Prosecutors say his testimony often contradicted prior statements he made to the FBI about the fateful voyage.
Both Archer and Zarabozo face life in prison.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
UNEDITED VIDEO: Toddlers Smoking Pot
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
