98911, People v. Baez

DeSloover also testified that she had interviewed defendant’smother, Delores Baez. Delores 3 was reluctant to talk to DeSloover,initially ignoring DeSloover’s attempts to reach her by mail andthrough family members. Eventually, however, defendant’s brother,Genarro Rosas, took DeSloover to meet with Delores, and he askedDelores to cooperate. DeSloover testified that Delores’s boyfriend,Victor Pasarro, was present in her meetings with Delores, and thatDelores appeared “nervous and afraid.” During one meeting,however, Pasarro left the room for 5 to 10 minutes, and Delores toldDeSloover that she and Pasarro had a “very bad relationship,” andPasarro did not want Delores to be involved in defendant’s case.DeSloover also presented a statement by Delores’s sister, KathyBaez. Kathy stated that Delores became pregnant with defendant’ssister Antoinette at age 13 by defendant’s biological father, TeodoroRosas. Rosas was abusive towards Delores and her children. Kathyrecalled that Delores’s jaw had been broken by Rosas, and thatdefendant had needed stitches in his head because Rosas had thrownan ashtray at him. Kathy reported that when defendant and Antoinetteheard Rosas arrive to pick them up from visits with theirgrandparents, they would shake, and Antoinette would sometimesvomit.When Rosas went to prison, Kathy wrote, Delores cut ties withhim, but she soon became involved with Victor Pasarro, whom Kathyclaimed was also abusive. Kathy recalled her father helping Deloresand the children move to Grand Rapids, and she recalled being toldthat Pasarro had kidnapped the family. Finally, she noted, Deloresallowed Pasarro to move back in with her and the children, andPasarro was physically abusive and controlling.Kathy later moved to Grand Rapids, and she learned thatdefendant was running away from home and breaking into cardealerships to stay in them. Kathy allowed defendant to stay with her,and Delores and Pasarro would not allow defendant to have any of hisclothes or belongings at Kathy’s home. While defendant was stayingthere, he was attending school, and on one occasion Kathy threatened3 To avoid confusion, we will refer to Delores Baez, Kathy Baez, andNancy Baez by their first names.-26-