State v. Ruiz

¶1 Five men were murdered in a Pasco garage in 1987 by two gunmen. One of the gunmen pleaded guilty and testified under oath at his plea hearing about how he and his cousin, appellant Vicente Ruiz,1 committed the massacre. When Mr. Ruiz was apprehended and tried in 2010, his cousin refused to answer when questioned by the prosecutor consistent with his previous testimony. Thé primary contention in this appeal is whether the prosecutor erred in questioning the recalcitrant witness despite his refusal to answer. We conclude that this was permissible and affirm the convictions for five counts of…