Medical records requested by attorney in Delavan stabbing case

Andrea Anderson | December 30, 2015

ELKHORN—The attorney for a Delavan man accused of stabbing his cousin to death is asking a Walworth County judge to examine the medical records of a jail inmate the attorney calls a snitch.

Attorney Edward Hunt filed a motion earlier this month requesting a private inspection of psychological and psychiatric treatment records, competency evaluations and Department of Corrections records for Fred Quirino.

District Attorney Dan Necci intends to call Quirino as a witness during Rafael Olivarez's trial in May.

Olivarez, 41, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the stabbing of Ivan Guerrero at Guerrero's Delavan home the morning of May 4, 2014.

In an interview with law enforcement at the Walworth County Jail, Quirino claimed Olivarez made “incriminating statements” and confided in him about the stabbing, the motion states.

Hunt calls Quirino a “jailhouse snitch” in the motion.

In an affidavit, Olivarez said he never spoke to Quirino about the case and that Quirino's statements are “completely false.”

Quirino suffers from mental illnesses affecting his judgment, Hunt argues in the motion. Examining his health records could shed light on Quirino's credibility and Olivarez's ability to defend himself, the motion states.

“The records requested ... may reveal support for the defense that Fred Quirino has a problem discerning the truth or acting and reporting in a truthful manner,” the motion reads.

In a separate motion, Hunt argues that facts about Guerrero's past should be allowed in court to support Olivarez's self-defense claim.

The motion claims that Guerrero was a member of Imperial Gangsters, a violent criminal gang that originated in Chicago and has expanded nationwide. The gang uses intimidation, murder and threats to protect its power and territory, according to the FBI and news reports.

In an affidavit, Olivarez said Guerrero “bragged” to him about robbing a man at gunpoint and also had a tattoo reflecting his gang membership.

Knowledge of Guerrero's alleged gang affiliation contributed to Olivarez's state of mind at the time of the stabbing, the affidavit reads.

On May 4, 2014, Olivarez and Guerrero “became belligerent” after several hours of drinking and began to argue and fight, according to court documents.

Police say Olivarez grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Guerrero in the upper body.

Scissors and a steak knife with blood on it were found in the grass outside the home. Another bloodied steak knife was found in the kitchen, police say.

Family and friends claimed an argument over the 2000 death of a cousin in Milwaukee led to the stabbing, police say.

Guerrero was living with the cousin when the cousin died. Milwaukee police ruled the death a suicide from a gunshot wound to the head, but they suspected Guerrero was involved in the death, according to police reports.

Olivarez is being held on a $1 million cash bond. He will appear in court at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 22, at the Walworth County Judicial Center.