Witness says suspect was at scene of shooting
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/14/2008 10:19:04 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO - A witness in the murder trial of a man charged with killing a 12-year-old boy during a chase through the Cajon Pass in 2006 testified Tuesday that she saw the defendant at the scene.
The woman recalled seeing a black Nissan Maxima being followed by a Ford Explorer on the southbound 15 Freeway on Dec. 11, 2006. The Maxima caught her attention.
"It was swerving in and out of traffic," April Henry said. "And it had a bunch of bullet holes on the passenger side."
She watched as the vehicles exited the freeway at Limonite Avenue and turned into a driveway near a restaurant. The Maxima's driver ran and three men from the car climbed into the Explorer, Henry said.
Under questioning from Deputy District Attorney Joanne Uhlman, Henry said the defendant, Pedro Escobedo, was driving the Explorer. A window in the Explorer was down, and Henry said she saw Escobedo for about 30 seconds.
"He looked out, right directly at me," Henry told the court.
After the Explorer left, Henry, a nurse, heard that someone was still in the Maxima and she went to help. Prosecutors say that person was 12-year-old Gabriel Garcia, who had been shot in the back of his head.
Sheriff's detectives say the chase began with a handoff of illegal Mexican immigrants in a restaurant parking lot off the 15 Freeway in the Cajon Pass.
Something went awry, and the two vehicles got on the southbound 15. Gunshots were fired from the Explorer at the Maxima, authorities said.
On cross-examination, Escobedo's lawyer focused on what the witness remembered seeing and whom she spoke to after the shooting.
Henry couldn't say how many officers she spoke with, under questioning from Deputy Public Defender Rasheed Alexander.
Henry remembered Detective Steve Pennington coming to her home but couldn't recall if she had spoken to him earlier. Henry recalled seeing a photo of the defendant.
"Right after he left, they flashed the same photo I had seen on TV," Henry said.
Alexander said during his opening statement on Thursday that authorities had the wrong man. After investigators showed the defendant's face in the media, Escobedo turned himself in, Alexander told the jury.
Another witness, Tracy Cox, testified that she contacted police after seeing a newspaper article about the shooting. The defense asked her about photos shown to her by detectives and details of the Explorer's driver, but she responded that she had trouble with details.
Escobedo faces charges of murder, shooting at an inhabited vehicle and a special allegation that someone involved had fired a weapon, according to court records.
Two other defendants - Saul Juarez, 21, and Luis Chavira, 24 - have accepted plea bargains.
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