The murder trial of Arthur Jesse Gallegoz continued into a third day as the jury heard testimony from the defendant, as well as two of his sisters, Destiny and Serenity Gallegoz.
Each of the Gallegoz family members told a slightly different story on the stand, and 350th District Judge Thomas Wheeler nearly held their mother in contempt after an outburst in court.
The emotional trial recessed early Wednesday after the defense rested.
The seven-woman, five-man jury is expected to hear closing statements Thursday morning and then begin deliberating on whether Arthur Gallegoz is guilty or not guilty.
He was being held Wednesday evening in the Taylor County Jail on $750,000 in bonds for three felony charges, according to online jail records.
The 24-year-old stands accused of the first degree-murder of Paul John Delacruz on Feb. 1, 2022, in addition to two counts of aggravated assault for the shooting injuries of Catrina Messer and Derrick Compton.
If convicted, he faces two to 20 years in prison for the assault charges and five to 99 years or life in prison for the murder charge. 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.
Necessary eyewear or a prop?
Arthur Gallegoz was very soft-spoken throughout his testimony as he detailed his version of events from the night of the shooting.
"He was very angry," Arthur Gallegoz said, referring to Delacruz whom he alleged had threatened his sister, Destiny Gallegoz.
The defendant told jurors that he did not know Delacruz, who had said "he was going to shoot that (profanity)," referring to Destiny Gallegoz.
Arthur Gallegoz said he saw Delacruz "grabbing something from his hip" which he thought was a gun.
The defendant testified that he fired his gun at Delacruz. He emphasized, however, that he suffers from near- and farsightedness and could not be certain if it was a gun he had seen Delacruz grabbing.
Taylor County Assistant District Attorney Dan Joiner stressed that Arthur Gallegoz never mentioned a gun in his previous interview with Abilene police detectives in 2022.
Joiner alleged that it was an act for Arthur Gallegoz to wear eyeglasses throughout the trial.
"You leave the glasses at the desk. Are you just wearing them at trial?" Joiner asked the defendant.
Defense attorney John Eric Nickols contended that his client did require the glasses to see despite the fact that he had not requested glasses from the Taylor County Jail in the previous two years.
Self-defense or retaliation?
Arthur Gallegoz testified Wednesday that he was just trying to scare Delacruz by shooting the gun at him.
Earlier in the trial, the jury watched surveillance video of the shooting.
Joiner pointed out that the defendant did not aim the gun in the air or to the side but instead right at Delacruz's chest.
No emotion crossed Arthur Gallegoz's face when Joiner showed him the medical examiner's photo of gunshot wounds in Delacruz's chest.
Joiner continued a tough cross-examination, pointing out the defendant lied to detectives by denying any involvement with the shooting and then later by hiding the firearm at a close friend's home.
Additionally, Joiner told the jury that Arthur Gallegoz and his sister, Destiny Gallegoz, were not defending themselves or in fear as they chased Delacruz up the apartment stairs while he was retreating into his apartment.
A stolen parking spot leads to murder?
When Arthur Gallegoz's younger sister, Serenity Gallegoz, took the stand, she echoed Destiny Gallegoz's testimony that he simply protecting his sister. The younger sister also noted that she thought she had seen Delacruz holding a gun on the night of the incident.
She said the incident began as a verbal confrontation between Delacruz and Edward Menjares, Arthur Gallegoz's uncle, over a disputed parking spot.
Apparently, Menjares had claimed a certain parking spot at the apartment complex, and Messer had parked her truck in it.
"I saw Paul had started to retreat," Serenity Gallegoz later testified as she described the verbal altercation that spread to Arthur Gallegoz and his sister, Destiny Gallegoz.
Serenity Gallegoz said Menjares had created a family plan which included not speaking to police or admitting that the surveillance cameras were operational.
Under intense cross-examination from Joiner, Serenity Gallegoz admitted she lied to police, in accordance with that plan, to protect her brother.
Delacruz "was using the door as shield," Serenity Gallegoz said Wednesday on the stand, telling yet another different story that contradicted her brother's earlier allegations that he acted to protect his sister.
It remains to be seen which version of events the jury will believe.
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