'Getting bad back here': Jury sees body cam video in Gallegoz murder trial

An Abilene man accused of shooting to death one person and wounding two others has been the subject of an emotional jury trial this week in the 350th District Court.

Arthur Jesse Gallegoz , 24, is suspected of firing a gun through an apartment door on Feb. 1, 2022, in north Abilene, killing Paul John Delacruz and severely injuring two others.

The jury heard testimony Monday and Tuesday from over 10 witnesses called by the prosecution, which included the two surviving victims.

Gallegoz was being held Tuesday in the Taylor County Jail on $750,000 in total bonds, according to online jail records.

If convicted, he faces 5-99 years or life in prison for first-degree murder in connection with Delacruz's death and 2-20 years each for two counts of aggravated assault in the second-degree in connection with a man and a woman who survived the shooting, according to Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

'This is getting bad back here'

Abilene Police Department officers' body camera footage was shown in court Monday, which showed officers initially finding two wounded victims, Derrick Compton and Catrina Messer, in the front room of an apartment on North Mockingbird Lane at 11:30 p.m. Feb. 2, 2022.

The footage showed an officer saying, "Yeah, this is getting bad back here," after they had encountered a third victim, Delacruz, lying in the back closet of a bedroom in the apartment.

As the footage continued, emergency personnel dragged his body out of the closet as they began chest compressions.

At this point in the trial, observers in the gallery, possibly victims' family members, began to cry audibly. No emotions crossed Gallegoz's calm face.

'A projectile fell out'

Forensic specialist Sierra Shaw also took the stand Monday as she showed the jury the multiple projectiles and bullet casings that detectives retrieved from the scene.

"When I lifted the tank top to fold it, a projectile fell out," Shaw said as she held up Messer's tank top from that night.

There were gunshot holes visible in the clothing that had been cut off her body in the hospital.

Shaw went on to describe a blood trail in the apartment as Gallegoz stifled a yawn.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of her testimony, however, was the innovative software which allowed the jury to view the crime scene in 3D-style imagery.

This was the first time in the Taylor County Courthouse that Leica 's 3D-imagery was utilized in such a high-profile case as detectives mapped out the crime scene using laser scanners.

'Paralyzed'

Messer herself took the stand Monday after wheeling herself through the small courtroom.

She testified that she is now paralyzed "from the belly button down" and suffers from partial paralysis in her right arm.

While she has regained some movement in her left leg, she has been left unable to walk since the shooting.

Messer, however, was unable to identify Gallegoz as alleged shooter because it had occurred too quickly.

Messer told the jury that all she saw was a female and a male standing at the front of the apartment before she fell to the ground that night.

An attempt to bury footage

Tuesday's proceedings proved to become a battleground, however, as defense attorney John Eric Nickols attempted to keep the jury from seeing surveillance footage secured by APD detectives.

Detective Mike Scott told the jury that he had noticed a neighboring apartment with a camera and a red light on when he had arrived on scene Feb. 2, 2022. The next morning, however, Scott had noticed that the red light had gone off.

The neighboring apartment was occupied by Gallegoz's uncle, and earlier testimony revealed that the uncle had asked then-fiancé Sandra Pierce to hide the surveillance camera's server in a utility closet.

Scott, however, obtained the server after informing Gallegoz's uncle that tampering with evidence was a crime.

When the prosecution was about to show the footage in court, however, Nickols put forth several motions to keep the footage from being shown to the jury.

"The contents of the hard drive contain hearsay," Nickols said in court Tuesday to which 350th District Judge Thomas Wheeler later replied, "How in the world can this be hearsay?" after the jury had departed.

There was a heated exchange between the judge, the defense and the prosecution. It ultimately ended with the video being shown in court of the shooting.

It remains to be seen if the seven women and five men on the jury will decide if it is Gallegoz on the surveillance footage.

More: UPDATED: Jury selection underway for Abilene man on trial for murder and assaults

More: Grand jury indicts Abilene man for allegedly shooting 3 people, killing 1

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: 'Getting bad back here': Jury sees body cam video in Gallegoz murder trial