Appeal denied for Valdez-Torres in attempted homicide

Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has denied an appeal by Rafael Valdez-Torres, the Hazleton man found guilty of attempted murder in a 2017 Tamaqua shooting.

On Feb. 5, 2019, a Schuylkill County jury found Valdez-Torres, 27, guilty of attempted murder in the first degree, inflicting serious bodily harm during a robbery, criminal attempt to commit robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, possession of a prohibited weapon and reckless endangerment. On March 11, 2019, Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin sentenced Valdez-Torres to 26 to 52 years in prison.

Joseph Becker, 36, of Summit Hill, was shot in the chest but survived the shooting, which happened Oct. 10, 2017, at about 2 a.m. in the backyard of a West Rowe Street home in Tamaqua. A second shot fired by Valdez-Torres missed Becker as he fled.

The cement of the case against Valdez-Torres was a videotaped confession obtained by Tamaqua Police Chief Henry D. Woods. During the video, Valdez-Torres said that Becker owed him money. When Woods asked, “Did you shoot him?” Valdez-Torres answered, “Yes.”

In his appeal, Valdez-Torres asserted that the evidence and testimony was not sufficient to support the criminal attempt to commit murder of the first degree, because he and Becker had a confrontation before he fired gunshots. He also asserted that an attempted robbery had not occurred.

In denying the appeal, the Superior Court described the robbery statute, noting that “a person is guilty of robbery if in the course of committing a theft, he inflicts serious bodily injury upon another. The court also noted that “specific attempt” is an element of attempted murder.

“The specific intent to kill can be established by showing the defendant’s act was willful, deliberate and premeditated, and premeditation may be brief,” read the Superior Court response. “The evidence was that Valdez-Torres demanded money from the victim at gunpoint and shot the victim when he refused.”

“There was sufficient evidence of deliberation and premeditation — the first shot did not kill Becker,” the ruling continued. “Between the demand for money and the first shot, and the time between the first shot and the second shot, ample time elapsed to enable Valdez-Torres to form a conscious design to kill and to carry it into effect.”