News

March 13, 2009

Penalty phase for Cuadra

By Ed Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE - Convicted murderer Harlow Cuadra will have to wait until Monday if he will spend the rest of his life in prison or if he faces the death penalty.

Prosecutors presented five witnesses and Cuadra's attorneys called seven people to testify during the penalty phase of the trial.

Cuadra, 27, was convicted by the jury on Thursday of killing Bryan Kocis, 44, in January 2007. The same jury will consider if he should be sentenced to life in prison or be executed.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys will give closing arguments on Monday before the jury decides which sentence will be imposed upon Cuadra.

POSTED 1:30 p.m.

WILKES-BARRE - Harlow Cuadra was molested by his step father for several years as a child while living in Tampa and Miami, Fla,, his brother, Jose Cuadra Jr., said.

Jose Cuadra testified on his brother's behalf during the penalty phase of Cuadra's hearing on Friday.

Cuadra, 27, was convicted by a jury on Thursday for the brutal killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, in January 2007. The same jury that convicted him is now hearing testimony to determine if Cuadra should be sentenced to life in prison or be executed.

Jose Cuadra, 28, said he and Harlow had a rough childhood growing up in Miami. After their parents divorced, they stayed with their mother, Gladis, residing in a tiny, windowless apartment near Tampa.

"We were living on welfare, living on foodstamps, it was bad," Jose said. "We didn't having nothing. We only had one ball; we would both go out and play ball."

Jose said their mother dated, including a man in a gang, and eventually married. The man their mother married began molesting Harlow while he slept in the same bed with Jose.

Jose said the molestation forced him to leave the home when he was 16 years old. He said he lost touch with Harlow for several years.

Harlow was found when Jose and his younger sister and brother found him on the myspace.com networking Web site.

"We found out in 2007 on myspace that Harlow was involved in gay porn," Jose said. "He came over the house with Joe (Kerekes) in the spring (2007). It was a little wierd at first but he' s my brother. He was scared that we would reject him because he's gay."

Prosecutors are attempting to convince the jury that Cuadra should receive the death penalty because he stole items from Kocis' home during a robbery, and set Kocis' home on fire that endangered firefighters.

Cuadra's attorneys, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker, are calling several family members of Cuadra to testify on his behalf.

After testimony concludes, Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick and D'Andrea or Walker will present their arguments to the jury before they deliberate Cuadra's punishment.

POSTED 9:12 a.m.

WILKES-BARRE - The penalty phase for convicted murderer Harlow Cuadra has begun.

Prosecutors are presenting evidence that Cuadra, 27, should be executed for the brutal killing of Bryan Kocis, 44, in January 2007.

Kocis was found slain inside his Dallas Township residence that was set ablaze on Jan. 24.

The fire endangered firefighters and items stolen from the home during the robbery are two aggravating factors prosecutors will present to the jury.

"The heat was terrible, we really didn't have any visibility," Dallas firefighter Michael James Hawk testified.

Hawk was part of a search team that entered Kocis' home while it was ablaze.

"Something happened to my equipment, my face mask," Hawk said when he crawled up the stairs and started searching the second floor. "All of a sudden, I started breathing in smoke, tasting smoke."

Kocis' mother, Joyce Kocis, said her son was a generous, loving person and was heartbroken when she learned of her son's death.

"You have to know Bryan, if only you knew Bryan the way we did, he was very private," Joyce testified. "He was the type of person who did things for people."

Cuadra's attorneys, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker, are expected present to the jury several mitigating factors not to impose the death penalty to include Cuadra's service in the U.S. Navy, Cuadra's age at the time of Kocis' death, no prior criminal convictions, participation in the homicide was minimal and being a victim of sexual abuse as a child.

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