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Recap: Week one of capital murder trial of Valley DPS trooper

Recap: Week one of capital murder trial of Valley DPS trooper
1 year 5 months 1 day ago Tuesday, January 16 2024 Jan 16, 2024 January 16, 2024 12:26 PM January 16, 2024 in News - Local

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated with details from Godinez's defense team. 

Tuesday marked the beginning of the second week of Victor Godinez's capital murder trial.

Godinez is the man accused of killing Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Moises Sanchez in 2019.

Day 1

The trial started out with the prosecution giving their opening arguments.

The lead prosecutor in this case, Joseph Orendain, said his main message to the jury was that this case "is about the reality every police officer faces every day".

The defense waived their opening arguments.

Day 2

The trial began with emotional testimony.

Edinburg police officer Roberto Miguel Reyes told the jury he was the first to arrive on the scene of the shooting.

He testified about finding trooper Sanchez badly hurt after being shot in the head.

Officer Reyes said seeing an officer down "felt like a punch in the stomach".

The final witness was Yvonne Sanchez, the widow of trooper Sanchez.

She broke down into tears after saying the Sunday before the start of the trial would have been her and trooper Sanchez's 28th wedding anniversary.

She spoke about the four months after the shooting where trooper Sanchez was in rehab, trying to get better.

He eventually died due to complications from the shooting.

Yvonne told the jury, "no matter what condition, I wanted to bring him home".

Day 3

More testimony was given from local police officers.

One of them, Edinburg Police Department Investigator Jesse Moreno.

Moreno says his job was to clear out the area where the shooting happened.

He talked about arriving to Cordon's Restaurant where families were having dinner that night and forced them to get to a safe place.

Moreno described his encounter with the suspected shooter.

He says he had help from neighbors who saw a suspicious person in the area. Moreno identified that person as Godinez and said when he caught up with him, the suspect shot at him, and he was forced to shoot back.

Moreno says he shot 17 times before taking cover.

Day 4 

Retired DPS trooper Eugenio Garcia Junior took the stand, telling the jury he heard the second round of gunfire.

Just after midnight, officers were able to arrest Godinez.

Day 5

DPS trooper Juan Zuniga talked about riding in the ambulance with Godinez.

He testified that while on their way to the hospital, Godinez said "I remember that trooper pulling up next to me and I shot him, is he alright?"

The defense questioned if that's actually what he said. They argued that he may have been slurring his words because he was intoxicated.

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