Delaware Supreme Court reverses Morales-Garcia verdict

The Delaware Supreme Court has reversed a double murder conviction for a Georgetown man and has sent the matter back to Superior Court for a new trial.

The court found the jury in the trial of Yony Morales-Garcia, 25, was prejudiced against him after prosecutors repeatedly brought up his brother Emner’s earlier guilty plea to robbery charges.

Morales-Garcia was convicted in 2024 of the January 2022 murders of Armando Vincente Chilel Lopez and Honorio Velasquez at the El Nopalito restaurant. The shooting that killed Lopez, 31, and Velasquez, 28, started with an incident between Lopez and the Morales-Garcia brothers at the El Nopalito restaurant. Following the incident, the Morales-Garcia brothers were removed from the restaurant. Feeling disrespected, the brothers returned; Emner allegedly stole a chain from around Lopez’s neck. Prosecutors said as Emner fled, Yony produced a gun and opened fire, ostensibly to protect Emner. However, the gunman was wearing a mask and witnesses could not positively identify the shooter. 

Originally, both Morales-Garcia brothers were charged with two counts of first-degree murder, which carry life sentences if convicted. However, murder charges were dropped against Emner because prosecutors could not prove he planned or took part in the shooting. He pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and conspiracy charges, and is serving a nine-year sentence.

Yony Morales-Garcia’s first trial ended in a mistrial. The state refiled charges and he was convicted of 17 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, which carried with it two life sentences plus 97 years in prison. 

During his sentencing in July 2024, Yony Morales-Garcia told the families of Lopez and Velasquez that he was sorry for their loss but could not apologize for a crime he did not commit. He blamed his guilty verdict on ineffective counsel and a biased prosecution. He said witnesses that were called were not truthful, and not all witnesses were called to the stand. He said no witness came forward and said they saw him commit the shooting. 

In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Morales-Garcia argued that prosecutors engaged in misconduct by bringing up Emner’s guilty plea as evidence of Yony’s guilt, both during the state’s opening statement and during direct testimony. Morales-Garcia also argued that even if it was proper to bring up Emner’s admission of guilt, the court should have instructed the jury that Emner’s guilty plea was not evidence of Yony’s guilt. 

The Supreme Court agreed with Morales-Garcia, saying in its opinion that references to Emner’s guilt was improper, violated his trial rights and jeopardized his right to a fair trial. The five justices ruled that by referencing Emner’s guilty plea, both through hearsay testimony and in the prosecution’s opening statement, the state risked the jury convicting Morales-Garcia based on Emner’s admission of guilt, rather than on the evidence. 

The justices opined that there was a reasonable probability of a different verdict, given there was no direct evidence or witness testimony that Morales-Garcia was the shooter.