Fabian Makell Miranda, 25, of Dayton, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for murder on Friday in the 253rd State District Courtroom of The Honorable Judge Chap Cain. Miranda was convicted by a jury for the November 2019 murder of his stepfather, Jose Jesus Moncivais.
During the five-day trial, Miranda and his attorneys contended that the shooting of Moncivais was in self-defense and alleged that Moncivais was drunk and had made threats to harm Miranda and his mother, Clarissa Zavala-Hernandez. The shooting took place in the kitchen of the family’s home on the 600 block of CR 685 in Dayton.
Miranda, while testifying on the witness stand, claimed he placed Moncivais in a headlock, which had the two of them facing each other, after Moncivais became aggressive and threatening. Miranda then claimed that he pulled a pistol from his pocket, as he was always carrying a firearm, and tried threatening Moncivais in an attempt to make him stop his alleged aggressive behavior.
He also claimed he had one-handedly released the magazine on the handgun, which then landed on the kitchen countertop, and held the empty gun to his stepfather’s head. When that failed to deescalate the situation, Miranda said he had reinserted the magazine and cleared a jammed bullet in the firearm, before firing the weapon at Moncivais, all while still holding Moncivais in a headlock.
The story lacked credibility with the prosecutors and jurors as they viewed video statements given by Miranda and his mother to investigators immediately after the shooting. Their statements differed with the testimonies they gave in court.
“There were parts of the video interview where you smiled, smirked and even laughed,” said Prosecutor Nicole Washington. “On scene, you would agree that you appeared calm.” Miranda agreed.
Washington pointed out that Miranda napped inside the patrol car after he was detained by investigators.
On the day of the murder, Miranda and his stepfather, a man he claimed was his “best friend,” went out to a couple of local bars for drinks. Miranda admitted to purchasing alcoholic beverages for Moncivais even though he claimed that Moncivais was prone to violence when he was drunk. While at the bar, they reportedly had gotten into an argument with other men before coming home.
When they returned home later, Miranda said that Moncivais threatened violence against his mother. At one point in the evening, Moncivais reportedly grabbed a duffel bag and tried to leave the house, but Clarissa stopped him and told him to go to bed.
“The truth is all he did was say something aggressive. All he did was use his words,” Washington said. “You did not see him hit Clarissa on the night of the murder.”
Washington asked Miranda if he had seen Moncivais with a gun or knife in his hand, or using any part of his body to physically harm Clarissa. Miranda replied to each question with “No, ma’am.”
“He said something to you about you not being man enough to shoot him, right?” Washington asked Miranda, to which he replied, “Yes, ma’am.”
Evidence gathered by Liberty County sheriff’s investigators and presented during the trial showed some inconsistencies in the accounts of Miranda and his mother. While Miranda never denied firing the gun at his stepfather, somehow only Moncivais’ DNA was on the gun. It was found by investigators lying in a pool of blood by Moncivais’ head.
LCSO Sgt. Travis Pierce testified that he became suspicious that someone was manipulating crime scene evidence shortly after his arrival.
“In the master bedroom, there was a strong odor of bleach. A very strong smell. My eyes started watering when I walked into the bathroom,” Pierce said.
He also was suspicious of the position of the gun as it did not match the information that authorities were given by Miranda and his mother about the struggle that took place between the victim and the defendant that led up to the shooting.
During closing statements, Assistant District Attorney Mark Boemio told the jury the murder was a preemptive strike by Miranda when there were options other than deadly force.
“This night he is feeding him shots of fireball. Is that pouring fuel on the fire? And you get to claim self-defense? Are you provoking? Are you pulling the tiger by the tail?” Boemio said. “Mom, by her own admission, stops him from leaving the house. She grabbed his duffel bag. Does that sound like reasonable fear? She told him to go to bed? Does that sound like fear? Couldn’t she have gotten on the phone and called 911 while he had him in a headlock or while they were struggling?”
Photos of the kitchen where the struggle allegedly took place did not reflect that a struggle had happened at all, Boemio said.
“You are in a fight to the death brawl. That’s what Fabian and his mother said. You’ve seen the photographs. Look at the area where there was supposed to have been a brawl. Not a dish was out of place. Placemats were not out of order,” Boemio said. “There was a muffin tray on the oven with still a muffin in it.”
The jury deliberated for a short time before returning a guilty verdict. They then listened to victim impact statements from Moncivais’ son, who described him as hardworking and trustworthy, and a longtime friend, who called him “a brother, maybe not by blood.”
Miranda’s ex-girlfriend said that he has remorse for the shooting and would not pose a threat to anyone else.
After hearing all the statements, the jury was then asked to consider a sentence between 5 and 99 years, or life in prison. Their deliberation for Miranda’s sentence also was brief, and within a few minutes, they returned with a sentence of 40 years in prison.
Third World.