Kihei man accused of threatening ex-girlfriend with knife found guilty | News, Sports, Jobs

Jose Godinez Moreno talks with Deputy Public Defender Zach Raidmae on Tuesday during his jury trial in 2nd Circuit Court. Godinez Moreno was found guilty of kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening and abuse of his former girlfriend. The jury trial was the first to be held in the 2nd Circuit since the state Supreme Court allowed jury trials to resume Feb. 28. The Maui News / LILA FUJIMOTO photos

WAILUKU — A Kihei man was found guilty of kidnapping, threatening and abusing his former girlfriend, who testified she didn’t think she would leave his apartment alive after he used a knife to puncture a pillow she was holding to shield herself.

Before then, Jose Godinez Moreno, 29, had forced the woman back into the apartment twice — once by dragging her by her hair — when she tried to leave on June 12, she said, testifying through a Spanish interpreter during his 2nd Circuit Court trial.

The jury returned the verdict Wednesday after deliberating for about 50 minutes, said Deputy Prosecutor David Van Acker.

“Our office is very gratified with the verdict, and we’re very pleased that we’re able to get justice for the woman that was victimized in this case,” Van Acker said. “We thank the jurors for their service.”

During the trial that began Monday, Maritza Rodriguez Sarabia testified she and Godinez Moreno were no longer in a romantic relationship when she went to his apartment at Paradise Gardens to drop off food for him and another man at about 2:30 p.m. June 12.

Maui Police Department evidence specialist Anthony Earles, testifying Tuesday in the 2nd Circuit Court trial of Jose Godinez Moreno, describes a gray body pillow shown in a photo he took in the bedroom of Godinez Moreno’s apartment in Kihei. Godinez Moreno’s former girlfriend testified he stabbed the pillow while she was holding it.

After the two finished eating, the other man left to go to the store to get beer and cigarettes before Godinez Moreno became angry and threw a beer can into the kitchen, she said.

“Ever since he threw the beer, I started to cry because I knew what was coming,” she said.

When she ran out of the apartment through the open sliding-glass door, she said Godinez Moreno grabbed her from behind and carried her back inside. She said she also tried to leave through the front door, but he dragged her back inside by her hair, then threw her to the floor and kicked her.

“He threw me over his shoulder” and took her into the bedroom, lowering her onto the bed, she said.

Godinez Moreno went into the kitchen, then returned with a knife, she said.

She said he pushed the knife against a body pillow she was holding to distance herself from him. She said he put the knife on a table and she threw it on an inflatable mattress against the wall.

Godinez Moreno went back into the kitchen and got another knife, which he sharpened in front of her while saying she was going to see what kind of man he was, Rodriguez Sarabia said. She said he cut himself twice in the chest to show how sharp the knife was before taking it back to the kitchen.

Under cross-examination by Deputy Public Defender Zach Raidmae, Rodriguez Sarabia said she didn’t use her cellphone to call 911 when Godinez Moreno was out of the room more than once “because I know what he was going to be capable of.”

“And what do you want me to do? To make him more angry,” she said. “I tried twice to run away and it didn’t turn out well. If I tried to call the police, it was going to be worse.”

When he did let her leave, he got her shoes from the lanai, walked her to her car and kissed her, she said.

Testifying in his defense, Godinez Moreno said Rodriguez Sarabia seemed to be jealous after he told her he had been texting with another woman and pushed him. She went out through the sliding-glass door before returning and swearing at him, he said.

When she went into the bedroom and continued swearing at him, Godinez Moreno said he yelled at her. “She seemed scared” and flinched, he said.

He said he went to the kitchen and got a knife, saying, “You think I’m going to hurt you?” before she threw the knife in the corner.

Godinez Moreno said he didn’t stab the pillow but cut it to stash money inside.

He said he lay on the bed with Rodriguez Sarabia because she was crying and sad before she got up and said she was leaving.

He testified in English, with a Spanish interpreter standing by.

During closing arguments to jurors Wednesday, Van Acker said there was “an avalanche of corroboration,” including the puncture in the body pillow and a police photograph showing cuts on Godinez Moreno’s chest.

Rodriguez Sarabia’s daughter testified her mother returned home at about 5:30 p.m. that day “shaking, crying” and “almost screaming” before family members calmed her down. They called a family friend who is a retired police officer before Rodriguez Sarabia went to the Kihei Police Station to make a report.

Van Acker also referred to a letter Rodriguez Sarabia received in what she recognized as Godinez Moreno’s handwriting. Part of the letter said, “I’m sorry about everything.”

In his closing arguments, Raidmae said there was conflicting testimony — “two people saying very different things, crazy different things.”

Although Rodriguez Sarabia said there were people outside when Godinez Moreno dragged her back into the apartment, no one intervened or called police, Raidmae said. “Her story has fatal problems,” he said.

At the prosecution’s request, Judge Peter Cahill increased bail for Godinez Moreno from $5,000 to $200,000 after the verdict finding him guilty of kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening and abuse. He is being held at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

He is set to be sentenced July 7.

The trial was the first 2nd Circuit Court jury trial since Feb. 28, when the state Supreme Court allowed jury trials to resume. It was also the first felony case to go to trial on Maui in two years, Raidmae said.

Some people wore masks in the courtroom, while others didn’t.

“It was a refreshing experience for people who had been waiting a long time,” Raidmae said. “It’s really good to see it back. There’s a bit of a backlog of people waiting for trials. It will probably be a busy year, which is good for people having their day in court.”

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

Maui Police Department evidence specialist Anthony Earles, testifying Tuesday in the 2nd Circuit Court trial of Jose Godinez Moreno, describes a gray body pillow shown in a photo he took in the bedroom of Godinez Moreno’s apartment in Kihei. Godinez Moreno’s former girlfriend testified he stabbed the pillow while she was holding it. Jose Godinez Moreno talks with Deputy Public Defender Zach Raidmae on Tuesday during his jury trial in 2nd Circuit Court. Godinez Moreno was found guilty of kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening and abuse of his former girlfriend. The jury trial was the first to be held in the 2nd Circuit since the state Supreme Court allowed jury trials to resume Feb. 28. The Maui News / LILA FUJIMOTO photos

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