Appeals court denies Trenton robber's claim he was not the aggressor

Corey Brisbon, 46, was arrested in December 2012 after being chased down by van owner Francisco Quijada and his brother Berardo Quijada.

TRENTON -- A state appeals court has upheld the robbery and burglary convictions of a Trenton man who broke into a resident's work van and then threatened to kill the van owner when confronted.

Corey Brisbon, 46, was arrested in December 2012 after being chased down by van owner Francisco Quijada and his brother Berardo Quijada.

Corey BrisbonN.J. Dept. of Corrections 

Brisbon contended in an appeal that he was not the aggressor, the judge improperly instructed his trial jury and he should not have been charged with robbery.

Francisco Quijada awoke in the middle of the night and spotted Brisbon breaking into his work van, the court wrote in summarizing the case.  He told his girlfriend to call police, woke up his brother Berardo and grabbed a metal pipe as the two went outside.

The brothers approached Francisco's van and saw Brisbon rummaging through tools inside, the court wrote. When spotted, Brisbon ran and the brothers gave chase.

During the foot pursuit, Brisbon stopped, faced the brothers, reached inside his jacket pocket and said: "Don't follow me, I told you, I'm going to kill you, I have a gun."

As Brisbon pulled his hand from his jacket, Francisco feared he had indeed had a gun and whacked him on the head with the pipe.

The chase continued and the brothers eventually subdued Brisbon after more physical fighting and were standing over a bloody and moaning Brisbon when Trenton police officers Jose Acosta and Anthony Cerrone arrived.

Brisbon was charged with robbery, burglary and making terroristic threats. The brothers were not charged. No gun was found.

Brisbon was acquitted of making terroristic threats, but convicted at trial of burglary and robbery.

In his appeal, Brisbon argued that Francisco Quijada was the aggressor and he confronted the brothers in self defense. he also argued the judge made errors in charging the jury and no evidence supported him being charged with robbery.

The appeals court did not agree with any of Brisbon's arguments.

"The uncontroverted evidence establishes that defendant initiated the use of force during his flight from the commission of the burglary, when he threatened to kill the Quijada brothers with a gun," the court wrote.

The court discussed the charge of robbery, finding it fit Brisbon's actions.

"A person commits robbery if 'in the course of committing a theft' the person inflicts bodily injury or uses force upon another, threatens another with or purposely puts the other in fear of immediate bodily injury, or commits or threatens immediately to commit a crime of the first- or second- degree," the court wrote, repeating written portions of the state robbery law.

"Nevertheless, defendant argues that while the evidence supports the burglary conviction, because he broke into the vehicle with the intent to commit an offense, there is no evidence to support the robbery conviction," the court wrote. "We consider this argument so meritless that it does not warrant discussion."

Brisbon is currently serving a 12-year sentence for the robbery and a concurrent 8 -year term for the burglary. He is eligible for parole in February 2023.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.