Published: September 15, 2006 12:02 am            

Padilla handed death sentence

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A jury took four hours Thursday to decide that a Gallitzin man should be put to death for the August 2005 shooting deaths of three Altoona men.

Miguel Padilla, unflinching, kept his eyes directed toward the front of the courtroom as the sentences were read for the murders of Alfred Mignogna, Fred Rickabaugh and Stephen Heiss.

Members of Padilla’s family – including his mother, Maria Brauns of Gallitzin – initially began to cry but became somber and stared forward. Brauns on Wednesday apologized to the families for her son’s actions that night outside a private Altoona club.

Padilla’s girlfriend Amanda Bianconi – the mother of his youngest child, Miguel Padilla Jr. – wept openly and clutched Brauns.

The families of the victims were tearful but otherwise showed no emotion.

Brauns, Bianconi, Padilla’s youngest brother Christian and a handful of others were spirited away from the courthouse by a representative of the Mexican consulate out of Philadelphia.

Miguel Padilla, 26, is an illegal Mexican alien who has been in this country since age 9.

Members of the victims’ families had little to say after the capital punishment decisions.

“There are no winners here,” said Michael Mignogna, son of one of the victims. “Justice was served.”

Rickabaugh’s son, Fred, said he was surprised at the verdict and had braced himself for a life sentence.

“I do feel a sense of vindication,” he said. “But at the same time, I feel sad. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. He has family, too,” he said.

Chelsey Boese, a cousin and close friend of Heiss, said she never believed any of the defense arguments in the weeklong case.

“I don’t think the stress syndrome or the blackouts he is (supposed) to have make you go out and kill people,” the 17-year-old said. “Steve was a great person and he was a hero.”

Blair County District Attorney Rich Consiglio saw little satisfaction in seeing more death, but said Padilla’s actions validated the jury decision.

“This was not the guy who in one night went crazy because of child abuse, alcohol or drugs. This guy may not be the worst of the worst, but he’s down there someplace,” he said after the verdict.

Death penalty attorney Ed Blanarik said he went beyond proving that Padilla has plenty of redeeming qualities and should be allowed to live.

“In my opinion, the mitigating factors far outweighed the aggravating. I’m very disappointed and saddened that the tragedy of last year is being compounded now by the death of my client,” he said.

In his closing statement, Blanarik told the jury that life in a prison is life.

“I don’t mean to be blunt, but the only way Miguel Padilla will get out of prison is in a box,” he argued.

Efforts by the Mexican government to get involved in the case were thwarted by Judge Hiram Carpenter and the state Supreme Court.

Public Defender Donald Speice said he had an uphill battle in defending Padilla and lashed out at the Mexican government, which battled to get him removed from the case.

Appeals are expected to keep Padilla’s case tied up in the courts for years.

A separate trial is expected next month on charges that Padilla as an illegal alien possessed a handgun in the murders. Carpenter ruled earlier that the out-of-county homicide jury could not know of Padilla’s citizenship status.

        

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