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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Defendant says wife’s shooting death was an accident
Pedro Hernandez said he made a mistake four years ago when he lied to a Waco police detective and other officers about the death of his girlfriend, which he testified Tuesday was accidental.
Hernandez, 30, who fled to Mexico for three years after he was involved in the shooting death of Lori Michelle Zarate, testified Tuesday that he wouldn’t have driven her to a hospital if he intended to kill her.
“I made the mistake of lying,” Hernandez told the jury. “I was scared and confused.”
Hernandez, a three-time convicted felon, is on trial for murder in Waco’s 54th State District Court in the May 20, 2004, shooting death of Zarate, a 24-year-old mother of three whom he said he dated about three years.
Prosecutors Melanie Walker and Edward Vallejo rested their case against Hernandez Tuesday afternoon after calling 21 witnesses over the past two days, including two of Zarate’s friends, who told the jury that Hernandez routinely beat her. A pathologist and a police detective also testified Tuesday that Hernandez’s stories about how Zarate was killed are inconsistent with the evidence.
Testifying against the advice of his attorney, Jack Hurley, Hernandez said he and Zarate had just dropped off her 6-year-old twin boy and girl at their respective baseball and softball practices and were riding around drinking beer and smoking marijuana with Zarate’s 3-year-old son in the back seat.
He said she had caught him cheating with another woman the day before and they had a big fight. He said he apologized and that they were trying to patch things up. They drove out into the country off Loop 340 so they could test fire a .40-caliber pistol that he said had been jamming. He said Zarate fired five shots into the air and they drove back to town and pulled into a convenience store at Richter and Bagby avenues.
He said he was about to get out when Zarate spotted a man who had assaulted one of their friends. Hernandez said he reached between the console and the passenger seat and pulled out the pistol when Zarate, fearing that he was pointing the pistol in her direction, tried to push the gun away from her.
It fired from about a foot away, striking her in the right side of the stomach, Hernandez said.
He said he pushed her over so he could drive to Providence Health Center. “I didn’t mean to kill her,” Hernandez said. “I may be responsible for her death, but I didn’t mean to kill her. I wouldn’t have tried to save her if I had intended to kill her.”
Zarate died about 30 minutes after Hernandez got her to the hospital.
During cross-examination by Vallejo, Hernandez said he threw the gun away while driving to the hospital because he is a convicted felon and not supposed to have guns. “You want the jury to believe your story, don’t you?” Vallejo said, challenging Hernandez. “It’s your eighth version of the story, but you want them to believe you, right?”
Vallejo reminded him of previous stories he told officers at the hospital and Waco police Detective Steve January during a 35-minute recorded interview that was played for the jury Tuesday.
Hernandez had said Zarate was shot by an unknown drive-by assailant while in the driver’s seat and he was sitting in the passenger’s seat with the door open and one leg on the ground as he was getting out.
A pathologist testified that the gun that killed Zarate was pressed to her abdomen — known as a contact wound — and that the trajectory of the .40-caliber bullet removed from near her back went from her right to her left in a slightly upward direction.
That is not consistent with any of the varying versions of the story Hernandez told, including his testimony on Tuesday, Vallejo said. In prosecution testimony, Vallejo asked January if it were possible for Zarate to have been shot the way Hernandez described it in his recorded interview the night that Zarate died.
“It would have to be a magic bullet,” January said.
January made it clear in that interview that he thought Hernandez was lying because he already had learned that the gun was pressed to Zarate’s stomach when it was fired. Still, the detective said, he released Hernandez because he wanted to probe a bit deeper before getting a warrant for Hernandez’s arrest.
Hernandez said he fled to Mexico three days later and planned to kill himself. “It didn’t work out that way, did it?” Vallejo asked. “I was too much of a coward,” Hernandez replied.
Prosecutors told Judge Matt Johnson that they were unsure if they will call rebuttal witnesses this morning. If not, the attorneys will give jury summations before the jury of six men and six women begins deliberating.
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Update: 6 evacuated after gas leak on McFerrin
Six people were evacuated from their homes in the 2800 block of McFerrin Avenue this afternoon after a gas leak, assistant fire chief Don Yeager said this afternoon.
A construction crew was working on phone lines in an area marked safe for digging when they hit a three-inch gas line, Yeager said. Officials shut off electricity to 10 homes in the immediate area until the gas can be turned off.
Police have the 2800 block of McFerrin blocked off, and hazardous materials crews are conducting tests on the air in the area.
It’s the second gas leak reported today. Earlier, residents near Hillcrest and Cobbs drives were evacuated after a 6-inch gas line was ruptured during construction work, according to a release from the city. Yeager said he believes those residents have returned to their homes.
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Gas leak reported near 28th and McFerrin
Waco fire and police officials are blocking off streets near 28th Street and McFerrin Avenue as they respond to a reported gas leak, staff writer Emily Ingram reports.
It’s the second gas leak reported today. Earlier, residents near Hillcrest and Cobbs drives were evacuated after a 6-inch gas line was ruptured during construction work, according to a release from the city.
Reporters Emily Ingram and Kelsie Hahn are on their way to the scene. Watch wacotrib.com for more details.
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Chet Edwards says VP consideration a ‘privilege’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco, thrust into the vice-presidential competition after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said he was her top choice among House Democrats, said Tuesday it was a “privilege” to be considered.
Edwards should be “in the mix” when presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama makes his selection of a running mate, Pelosi said Monday in a brief videotaped interview posted by Newsweek.
The speaker, a Californian, said Edwards, a nine-term moderate who specializes in military and veteran affairs, was considered a good choice by her as well as “a lot” of others.
Edwards, interviewed as he headed to the House floor for a legislative vote, said he had not met with the vice presidential search team.
“If at some point the Obama campaign considers me, I can’t imagine many Americans who wouldn’t consider it a deep privilege to serve our country as vice president. But at this point, I would not want to speculate as to who’s on the list.”
“I am a happy husband, father and member of Congress,” the congressman said. “So I’m going to continue my life as usual.
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Edwards says it’s a ‘privilege’ to be considered for vice presidency
WASHINGTON — Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco, thrust into the vice-presidential competition after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said he was her top choice among House Democrats, said Tuesday it was a “privilege” to be considered.
Edwards should be “in the mix” when presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama makes his selection of a running mate, Pelosi said Monday in a brief videotaped interview posted by Newsweek.
The speaker, a Californian, mentioned only the name of Edwards, a nine-term moderate who specializes in military and veteran affairs.
Interviewed as he headed to the House floor for a legislative vote, Edwards said he had not met with the vice presidential search team.
“If at some point the Obama campaign considers me, I can’t imagine many Americans who wouldn’t consider it a deep privilege to serve our country as vice president. But at this point, I would not want to speculate as to who’s on the list.”
“I am a happy husband, father and member of Congress,” he said. “So I’m going to continue my life as usual.
— Julia Malone writes for Cox Newspapers’ Washington Bureau
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Man shot by stranded motorist released from hospital
Milam County officials say the 29-year-old Cameron man who was gunned down on the side of a county road by a stranded motorist he had stopped to help has been released from the hospital.
No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting, according to the Milam County Sheriff’s Office, which declined to release any further information citing a pending investigation.
Officials said Sabino Alvarez and another person had stopped at 3 a.m. Sunday to help a stranded motorist along Farm-to-Market 2269. The motorist, officials said, shot and wounded Alvarez.
He was taken to Scott & White Hospital in Temple where emergency room staff notified the sheriff’s office.
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One killed in car wreck in Hill County
Texas Department of Public Safety officials say one person was killed early today in a three-car pile-up near Covington in northern Hill County.
More details will be provided as soon as they are available.
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Murder trial: Victims’ friends tell of abuse
Friends of murder victim Lori Michelle Zarate told a 54th State District Court today that the woman showed bruises from abuse by her boyfriend, who is on trial for her murder.
Pedro Hernandez, 30, is on trial in the May 20, 2004, shooting death of Zarate. Officials say she was shot in front of her 3-year-old son, who was in the car.
Jurors heard testimony this morning from Anthony Davis, 26, a friend of the victim who said that on the morning of her death Zarate came to his house. She was in tears, he said, and told him that she and Hernandez had been fighting.
She had bruises on her arm and her face looked red like from a physical confrontation, he said.
Davis said Zarate stayed at his home for a couple of hours before leaving. He said he found out later that night that she was killed.
A few days after her death, Davis said he called the defendant, who broke down crying and hung up. David said he called him later and Hernandez said “he couldn’t live no more and wanted to take his life.”
But Hernandez wouldn’t say anything more about her death, Davis said.
Davis also said he frequently saw Hernandez with pistols, including a .40-caliber handgun. Autopsy reports indicated Zarate was shot by a .40-caliber pistol in the right side of her abdomen.
Another friend of the victim, Lisa Resendez, testified that two days before Zarate was killed, she told Resendez that she wanted to leave her boyfriend, but was afraid. Zarate lifted her shirt and showed bruises on her chest and shoulder, Resendez said.
“It became a regular thing; there would just be bruises on various parts of her body,” said Resendez, who said she first noticed the signs of abuse in early 2004.
Like Davis, Resendez also said she often saw the defendant with guns.
For prior coverage of the trial, click here.
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Courthouse parking lot hole fixed
A hole in the parking lot of the McLennan County Courthouse has been fixed.
Workers had to dig down 10 to 12 inches and remove some loose material from the vicinity of the hole, McLennan County Judge Jim Lewis said. They then filled it in with concrete. The entire area worked on was smaller than a washtub, he said.
The hole first appeared in the parking lot three weeks ago. About 20 parking spaces at the courthouse were temporarily blocked off to keep people from driving or stepping in the hole, which was originally about the size of a football.
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Officials: Israeli police officer kills self at Sarkozy ceremony
An Israeli police officer fatally shot himself today at an airport departure ceremony for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, sparking fear of an assassination attempt and prompting bodyguards to whisk away Sarkozy and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, officials said.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there had been no assassination attempt on the French leader.
Another police official said the shooting was a suicide, while a third said it may have been accidental.
Dark-suited men quickly ushered Sarkozy and his wife up the stairs of their plane. At the same time, security guards with guns drawn rushed Olmert and Israeli President Shimon Peres toward their cars.
The shooting occurred while a military band was playing, and the leaders apparently didn’t hear anything.
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Big clothing store coming to Waco
I’m going to refer you to the Mike’s Marketplace blog where he has news about a fast-growing retailing chain that will open a 65,000-square-foot store here.
Check it out.
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Myanmar raises cyclone death toll to 84,500
Myanmar said today that 84,500 people perished in last month’s cyclone, up from its last announcement that 77,700 had died in the devastating storm that drew international pleas for the insular government to accept outside help.
Meanwhile, a representative from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the regional bloc that includes Myanmar, said a recent assessment tour found the needs of the storm’s survivors were being met.
— The Associated Press
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Update on gas leak at Hillcrest, Cobbs drives
The city has provided us an update about the gas leak at the intersection of Hillcrest and Cobbs drives.
A 6-inch gas line was ruptured during construction work just after 10 a.m. today, according to a release from the city. The release continues:
A hazardous materials team from the Waco Fire Department is on the scene and has evacuated nearby homes as a safety precaution.
Citizens are encouraged to avoid this area. Atmos has been contacted and should be on the scene by 11 a.m. to shut down the flow of the gas and repair the leak. The estimated repair time should range anywhere from 25 minutes to three hours. Gas customers who live in the area will need to relight the pilot light on their systems once the service has been restored.
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Lightning-sparked fires plague California
More than 840 wildfires sparked by an “unprecedented” lightning storm are burning across northern California, alarming the governor and requiring the help of firefighters from Nevada and Oregon.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was told late Sunday evening that the state had 520 fires, and he found it “quite shocking” that by Monday morning the number had risen above 700.
Moments later, a top state fire official standing at Schwarzenegger’s side offered a grim update. The figure was actually 842 fires, said Del Walters, assistant regional chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. All but a couple were in the northern part of the state.
— The Associated Press
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Update: Becker knocks off 4th seed at Wimbledon
Former Baylor all-American Benjamin Becker pulled off an opening-round stunner at Wimbledon today with a straight-sets victory over fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.
Winning his first Grand Slam match in two years, Becker defeated Davydenko, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the second round of the historic grass-court tournament in England.
Davydenko appeared to be a bad first-round draw for Becker, but the Russian was playing his first match on grass since last year’s Wimbledon when he reached the Round of 16. For his career, the 27-year-old Davydenko is just 5-13 on grass.
Becker, who was dominant on serve, improved to 6-7 all-time on grass. His last Grand Slam victory came at the 2006 U.S. Open, when he ended Andre Agassi’s career before losing in the fourth round to American Andy Roddick.
In the second round, the 116th-ranked Becker will face the winner of a match in progress between No. 128 Jonas Berkman of Sweden and No. 145 Arnaud Clement of France.
You can keep up with Wimbledon action here.
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Gas leak at Cobbs, Hillcrest
Waco firefighters and police are out at the corner of Cobbs and Hillcrest drives on the report of a gas leak in the area. According to comments on the police scanner, one house was evacuated and traffic was being diverted around the area.
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Sheriff’s officers pack commissioners’ court over jail proposal
Sheriff’s officers came out in full force today to tell McLennan County commissioners they are concerned about a proposal to privatize all jails in the county.
Dozens of officers filled the commissioners’ meeting room during the public comment portion of the meeting.
The county is under the gun to solve its jail overcrowding problem. The jail on State Highway 6 has been teetering on its maximum capacity for several years and has been operating with variances from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
Among proposals commissioners are considering is one to have a private company finance, design, construct, operate and manage a new 1,000-bed jail to be built on 8.9 acres west of the current 931-bed facility on Highway 6.
Another option envisions a company operating the downtown jail and building and operating the new 1,000-bed jail on Highway 6.
Yet another option calls for a private company to take over all county detention duties except for booking, releasing and records. That would include operating the downtown and Highway 6 jails and building a new one.
The county’s lease with private detention company Community Education Centers to operate a 329-bed downtown jail expires Oct. 1.
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Ex-Baylor star leads in Wimbledon match
Former Baylor all-American Benjamin Becker just won the first set, 6-4, in his opening-round Wimbledon match against No.4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia. And he’s already up a break in the second set.
You can keep up with Wimbledon action here.
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House speaker says Edwards should be on Obama’s VP list
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was asked at an event whom she thinks would be a good choice for Barack Obama’s running mate.
In this video, she says that she’d like to see someone from the House of Representatives in the mix and that Chet Edwards of Waco ought to be given consideration.
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No emphysema for Winehouse after all
A discrepancy regarding the health of Amy Winehouse arose after the Grammy-winning singer’s father said she had early stage emphysema brought on by smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes.
A publicist for Winehouse later said he had misspoken “out of his concern for her.”
“She is not diagnosed with full-blown emphysema, but instead has early signs of what could lead to emphysema,” Tracey Miller, her U.S.-based representative, told The Associated Press on Monday.
In an interview published Sunday by the Daily Mail of London, Mitch Winehouse said that his daughter’s crack and cigarette smoking had led to early-stage emphysema, and that the singer had an irregular heartbeat. He said she had been warned that she will have to wear an oxygen mask unless she stops smoking drugs.
However, in an interview later with BBC Radio 1, he appeared to downplay his dire statements, and said: “Amy really hasn’t got emphysema, there’s traces of emphysema. Obviously, if she doesn’t quit smoking, it’s going to get worse, like everyone else … with patience her lungs will recover completely.”
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Fire devastates Gatesville trailer home
A vacant trailer home was destroyed by fire early today near Gatesville, officials say.
At 3:30 a.m., volunteer fire crews from Gatesville, Flat and Mound responded to the fire at a trailer park at 11049 S. Highway 36.
While the fire threatened other homes in the area, Flat firefighters, who were the first at the scene, managed to contain the flames, said Gatesville Fire Chief Billy Vaden.
The home’s owners, Vaden said, were not in the trailer at the time of the fire. The cause is under investigation.
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Teen mom: 17 pregnancies ‘coincidence’
A Glouchester, Mass., high school student this morning told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that there was no pact by 17 girls to get pregnant and called the high rate of pregnancies “unlucky” and a “coincidence.”
On Monday, city, school and health officials had a closed-door meeting that resulted in the mayor saying there was no evidence of the purported pact, which has received national coverage and has been fodder for newstalk shows since Time magazine reported the story last week.
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Explosion in Baghdad council building kills 10
A bomb struck a municipal council building today in Baghdad’s Shiite Sadr City district, killing four Americans, including two soldiers and two U.S. government civilian employees, U.S. officials said. At least six Iraqi civilians also died.
U.S. troops captured a suspect who tested positive for explosive residue after fleeing the scene, the military said. It blamed Shiite extremists for the attack.
The blast occurred at 9:30 a.m., about half an hour before a scheduled meeting to elect a chairman of the local council in the Shiite militia stronghold, an Iraqi official said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The bomb exploded in the office where the meeting was to have occurred, the official said, adding that at least three council members were seriously wounded.
— The Associated Press
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Accident on Highway 6
We’ve been told about an accident on State Highway 6 this morning, south of Loop 340.
Highway officials say an 18-wheeler has flipped on its side and caught fire on the northbound side of Highway 6. The call into the Texas Department of Public Safety at 7:10 a.m. today.
Be careful in that area.
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