NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-4250-17T1 STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. ROSENDO S. GOMEZ-SERPAS, a/k/a SALOMON GOMEZSERPAS, SALOMON GOMEZ, SALOMON SERPAS, SALOMON GOMEZ-SEEPAS, SALOMON G. SERPAS, and SALOMON G. SEEPAS, Defendant-Appellant. _________________________________ Submitted January 22, 2020 – Decided February 26, 2020 Before Judges Hoffman and Firko. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Union County, Indictment No. 16-08-0548. Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Jaime Beth Herrera, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, of counsel and on the brief). Lyndsay V. Ruotolo, Acting Union County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Timothy Mark Ortolani, Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief). Appellant filed a pro se supplemental brief. PER CURIAM Tried before a jury, defendant Rosendo S. Gomez-Serpas appeals, following his conviction and sentencing for first-degree murder, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3(a)(1) and (2); fourth-degree unlawful possession of a knife, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(d); and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(d). We affirm. I. The following evidence was introduced at trial. At around 3:00 a.m. on April 9, 2016, defendant went to Imperial Latino, a bar in Elizabeth, to pick up his girlfriend, Dinora Rodriguez (Rodriguez), who was finishing her shift as a waitress, despite having to wake up for work at 7:00 a.m. At some point that night, Rodriguez served Mario Ortiz (Ortiz) drinks and promised to leave with him, though she did not intend to do so. Rodriguez did this in accordance with the bar's business scheme of inducing customers to stay and buy drinks for as long as possible, including falsely leading them on. Ortiz and Rodriguez met at A-4250-17T1 2 her previous job at a bar called Kucaramakara,1 and he saw her once before at Imperial Latino. At the end of her shift, Rodriguez exited the bar to meet defendant in the parking lot. She exited the bar with a co-worker, Gloria Rivera (Rivera), through the vestibule area. Ortiz questioned her about leaving without him, grabbed her by the arm, and was "pulling her to take her with him." Ortiz told Rodriguez she was "going home with him." Defendant, who was standing beside Rodriguez, confronted Ortiz about grabbing Rodriguez, and informed Ortiz that she was his girlfriend and he came to take her home. Thereafter, an altercation ensued between defendant and Ortiz. Defendant and Rodriguez testified that during a verbal conflict, Ortiz became physical, whipping defendant on his back with his belt, and threatening defendant. They testified that defendant and Ortiz pushed each other, though the confrontation was not captured on the video footage from the bar. However, another surveillance video showed defendant walking away from Ortiz and ...
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