Publication: Albuquerque Journal
Edition: Journal North
Date: 07/09/1999
Page: 3
Headline: Defendant: Killing Was Self-Defense
Byline: Brendan Smith Journal Staff Writer

Pierre Burck told the jury at his murder trial Thursday he is still defending himself six months after a fight that killed 40-year-old Joseph Mark Duran.
  Burck could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison if the jury doesn't believe his claim of self-defense in Duran's strangulation death Jan. 15.
  Burck, who said he served in the Marines for 12 years until 1993, testified his training in hand-to-hand combat probably saved his life during a fight in Duran's van after a night of heavy drinking.
  "The fight is in full rage. It's vicious. It's furious. It's ongoing," Burck testified. "It was a violent fight where he was trying to kill me and I was trying not to die."
  Burck, who punctuated his sentences with "yes sir" and "no sir," testified Duran smoked some cocaine about two hours before he suddenly pulled his minivan to the side of County Road 41 near Alcalde and lunged at Burck.
  Earlier, Duran had accused Burck of stealing the cocaine even though Burck didn't smoke any, Burck testified. Burck, a 37-year-old lumberyard employee, said he and Duran had been drinking and driving around the Espanola area, but he said the attack in the van was unprovoked and a "scary surprise".
  "(Duran) was yelling at me saying, 'I'm going to (expletive) kill you!' " Burck testified. "During all this time, we're grabbing at each other. He was going for the lethal move."
  Burck testified that after having his glasses knocked off, he thought he saw Duran reach for a knife on his belt so Burck broke his arm. Both men then fell into the back seat of the van where they choked each other, Burck testified.
  "Broken arm and all, this man is going to kill me," Burck said. "I'm in a losing battle and I know it."
  Burck testified that Duran, a silversmith and father of six daughters, went limp. Burck testified he crawled out from under Duran's body and stumbled out of the van.
  The night that began with Burck exchanging a dead battery at an Espanola auto parts store had ended with Duran's death.
  "I was thinking, 'What the hell just happened?' That went through my head like a bolt of lightning," Burck testified. "(Duran) wasn't moving. I was pretty sure he was dead."
  Burck said he sat outside the van for more than an hour, drinking a couple of beers while thinking about what to tell Duran's family. Duran's wife, Karla, is Burck's cousin and they lived within a mile of each other in San Juan Pueblo.
  Burck at times became angry at State Police investigators and during questioning by Assistant District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco, saying she was trying to distort his words and twist the truth.
  After finding his glasses and checking Duran's body for a pulse, Burck eventually drove with the body to the State Police office in Espanola and told investigators what happened, Burck testified. He said he never considered dumping the body or wiping down the van to destroy evidence.
  "I face things honestly and morally. I face up to what I do," Burck said. "I sit down and tell (investigators) what happened. They chained me to a wall like a damn animal and call me a murderer."
  Burck couldn't explain why Duran's autopsy showed no sign of cocaine unless the handmade pipe Burck said Duran made had had some holes in it.
  The autopsy showed Duran had a .29 percent blood-alcohol level but no evidence of any other drugs in his system.
  Burck registered a .06 blood-alcohol level, below the legal limit of .08 percent to drive a car, but he also showed no signs of other drugs in his system.
  Burck said he wrenched his back in the fight while the autopsy showed Duran suffered a broken arm, several broken ribs and death by strangulation.
  The trial will continue Monday and possibly Tuesday before the jury begins deliberating an open count of murder.

Publication: Albuquerque Journal
Edition: Journal North
Date: 07/13/1999
Page: 1
Headline: Prosecutor Says Burck Planted Evidence for Police
Byline: Brendan Smith Journal Staff Writer
Jury Slated To Get Slaying Case Today
 
  During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors portrayed Pierre Burck as a cold, calculating killer, a former Marine who choked a man to death and then planted evidence to support his self-defense claim.
  "He's a very skillful man. That's what he was trained to do, to hide his tracks," Assistant District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco said. "He's cunning, he's bright and he set (evidence) up for the cops."
  No testimony during Burck's three-day murder trial directly supported the planted-evidence theory, and Burck's attorney, Stephen Aarons, called the theory a "wild goose chase."
  Burck choked and killed 40-year-old Joseph Mark Duran, his cousin's husband, on Jan. 15 because Burck "has the same fight-or-flight response at the base of the brain that the rest of us do," Aarons said.
  "These two men were in a fight, not of Pierre's making," Aarons said. "(Burck) didn't want it to be a death match."
  Burck, a 37-year-old lumberyard employee from San Juan Pueblo, has testified he killed Duran but said it was self-defense.
  Burck testified Thursday he and Duran had driven to Espanola on Jan. 14 to get a new battery for Burck's truck. After drinking for several hours, the pair stopped at a rest area near Ojo Caliente where Duran smoked cocaine from a pipe he fashioned from half a beer can, Burck testified.
  Duran then accused Burck of stealing the cocaine even though Burck didn't smoke any, he testified.
  State Police investigators found a handmade pipe with cocaine in it at the rest area and flakes of red paint on Duran's pocket tool consistent with paint from the beer-can pipe.
  However, Duran's autopsy showed no sign of cocaine in his system.
  Burck testified Duran had calmed down later in the night but then suddenly pulled his minivan off County Road 41 near Alcalde and lunged at Burck, choking him.
  Burck, who served for 12 years with the Marines until a less-than-honorable discharge in 1993, testified he was in a life-or-death struggle with Duran until Duran passed out and Burck scrambled out of the van.
  Burck told the jury he then sat outside the van for more than an hour, thinking about what he would tell Duran's family because he knew Duran was dead. Burck eventually drove with Duran's body to the State Police office in Espanola at 4:30 a.m. Jan. 15.
  Pacheco claimed Burck used that time for another purpose and went back to several sites where Burck said he and Duran had been drinking to plant evidence, such as the cocaine pipe.
  Pacheco also pointed to the severity of Duran's injuries while Burck suffered only a sprained back in the fight.
  Autopsy results showed Duran had a .29 blood alcohol level and suffered a broken arm, four broken ribs, several cuts and bruises, five head blows, and a broken bone and crushed cartilage in his neck.
  "Does this sound like fair play? At some point and time, could the beating have stopped?" Pacheco asked.
  Burck, who was trained in hand-to-hand combat in the Marines, testified he smoked a marijuana joint the day before a drug test in 1993 because he had become disillusioned with the Marines and wanted out.
  Santa Clara Pueblo Lt. Gov. Edwin Tafoya Sr., who was subpoenaed by Aarons, testified Monday he was called to San Juan Pueblo on Jan. 1 to break up a fight between his son and Duran. Tafoya said he later found two of his tires slashed but didn't see Duran do it.
  Duran's wife, Karla, testified last week that her husband drank frequently and sometimes used cocaine but was a responsible father. Duran was a silversmith who is survived by six daughters and a grandson.
  The jury will return today to deliberate on a charge of first-degree murder or lesser charges of second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter. Burck could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.