COULD YOU CONVICT THIS FATHER? David Barajas Murder Trial

[Cutz]

This is my impression - she must have been behind the wheel steering as they were pushing and like any driver she would have been continuously checking her rear view mirror for traffic, she saw no lights and then the impact occurred.

So what you're saying is that she failed to see the approaching traffic? Typical, another tragedy caused by a woman driver.

[Duchess]

Have you come across any search/arrest warrants or the police report from the accident or any official docs for this case, Duchess?

No, I haven't but I haven't really invested any time in looking either. I've been reading news reports & Mock.

[HairOfTheDog]

I hope they've been able to find comfort in each other.

Me too.

Just based on that ABC interview, it's seems that Mrs. Barajas is very tight with her husband. She breaks up when talking about LE wanting to take her husband away from her after two of their kids have already been taken away.

[HairOfTheDog]

Have you come across any search/arrest warrants or the police report from the accident or any official docs for this case, Duchess?

No, I haven't but I haven't really invested any time in looking either. I've been reading news reports & Mock.

Thanks.

I don't think they're available or they would have been linked in some of the news articles that we've posted.

I did some quick searches for them specifically this morning and came up empty-handed.

The witness reports right after it happened might help plug in a couple of the holes (or not). Ah, well...

[Duchess]

The witness reports right after it happened might help plug in a couple of the holes (or not). Ah, well...

I've read some statements from witnesses in a few of the news reports and it's incredible the way they all say they were there, they even recount what they saw and heard (the gunshot) yet no one saw a shooter. Ah-mazing.

[Cutz]

What about the cousins claim that he was following the dude to make sure he got home safe? Any witnesses support that?

[Duchess]

What about the cousins claim that he was following the dude to make sure he got home safe? Any witnesses support that?

I haven't seen it reported anywhere but I'll enclose their testimony so you can see what they had to say about that -

Tellez and Banda's half-brother, Antonio Rodriguez, who also testified, said they were following Banda home in another vehicle after a night of drinking when the crash occurred.

Details of Rodriguez's testimony also contradicted his cousin's account of the night, including whether Barajas was inside or outside of the truck after the crash.

Both men admitted to leaving the scene after a confrontation with Barajas. Neither called 911 and did not contact authorities until days after the incident. During their testimony, the men told jurors they were in shock and expressed remorse.

"What happened was horrific," Tellez said from the witness stand, his voice cracking. "It was horrible."

[Cutz]

Sigh. Entirely too much mystery. Some peeps are lying.

[HairOfTheDog]

The 911 Callers Testify

This morning two teenage boys who drove up to the car crash testified.

They were the ones who called 911 that night.

The high school witnesses were questioned by prosecutors and the defense for several hours. Both the Barajas and Banda families were there.

The boys described driving up to the tragic car crash in Alvin December 7, 2012. Their testimonies varied in terms of some details. But both boys described seeing two children badly injured and hearing lots of screaming. Neither witness claimed ever seeing David Barajas with a gun.

Emotions still ran high today. A 9-1-1 call from that night was played several times. Barajas was covering his ears at one point.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/263430...s-with-gun

[Duchess]

I've been trying to find the report I read about those two teens but I haven't been successful. If I remember correctly, as they pulled up to the scene the father says to them, words to the affect of, "don't let them leave" and the boys blocked in his vehicle with their car, one stood in front and the other behind. They stayed until they heard a gunshot, got scared and left. They returned later with the father of one of them. Like the others, they heard the gunshot but didn't see anything. I have a WTF laugh the last couple of times I've typed that.

[HairOfTheDog]

Here's some more detail on the witness testimony.


Two of the witnesses, William Taylor Duncan, 17, and Landon Lain, 18, testified they saw the crash while driving home together that night. They pulled over when flagged down for help by a man saying his son had been hit.

"(He said) 'Call the police, my kid has been hit, make sure they don't leave,'" Duncan told jurors. He said he believed the man was referring to any occupants in the Malibu.

Lain said he then drove his vehicle in between Barajas' Ford 250 truck and Banda's car before the teens got out.

On a 911 recording of call from Lain, he can be heard telling a dispatcher he heard a gunshot before the line disconnects.

Duncan told jurors he stood a few feet in front of Banda's car. Lain said he was also in front of Banda's car.

Each teen told jurors the man who flagged them down, asking them to help his children, was not at the crash site for about three minutes. They say he later returned and approached the Malibu.

The teens testified they later heard a gunshot, but neither say they saw anyone with a weapon.

The teens said they got scared after hearing the shots and left the scene. They returned later that night with Lain's father.

Another witness who came upon the crash was Tammy Archuleta, a cafeteria cook at the same school attended by the Barajas siblings.

She was on her way home when she came upon the wreck. Archuleta saw a man, who appeared angry. However, she could not identity him as Barajas.

Archuleta also told jurors she heard gunfire minutes after she arrived, but her back was to the crash site and she did not see anyone with a weapon.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/art...547.php#/0
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Somehow Banda was executed with all of these witnesses present during a very tight time frame, but nobody saw the shooting. You're right -- it is ah-mazing. Unbelievable, even.

[HairOfTheDog]

Friday's Testimony & Some More Background Info

This case has some of the worst reporting I've ever come across; poorly written, incomplete... But, anyway, here's what went down in court yesterday and some other information that I've come across.


CSI Testimony
Crime scene investigators confirmed that that no blood or other material linking Barajas to the accident was found in the Barajas home when they searched it. I guess this means that they found nothing to substantiate that Barajas had been in his home following the accident and before he was taken to the hospital. Video ref: http://www.click2houston.com/news/invest...r/27689544

The defense attorney challenged the integrity of DNA collection at the scene upon cross-examination of crime scene investigators for hours as the testimony got heated in the courtroom.
Ref: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/263497...ajas-trial

Background
Earlier this week, prosecutors noted that Barajas' DNA was found on Banda's car, but his defense attorney says that's because he approached the car to see who was inside. (Ref: opening statements)

Barajas' brother Gabriel also told investigators that David Barajas told him he remembers some of what happened that night, but a lot of it is a blur. Ref: http://personal-injury-attorney-houston....ected.html

One thing I'm curious is about is whether or not Banda was even conscious when he was shot. This is the photo of his car immediately after the crash.


I don't expect David Barajas to take the stand in his own defense, but it will be interesting if he does.

[Cutz]

Even if he was conscious when he was shot, concussion symptoms aren't dissimilar from drunken symptoms. I feel like for Barajas to have known he was drunk, Banda would have had to say it.

[RJs-Ex]

Even if he was conscious when he was shot, concussion symptoms aren't dissimilar from drunken symptoms. I feel like for Barajas to have known he was drunk, Banda would have had to say it.

Maybe he could smell it on him.

[Cheyne]

If I am reading the articles correctly the prosecution is trying to tie Barajas to the shooting of Banda because Barajas has "an open box of .357 ammunition and a bullet fragment of .357 ammo was found at the murder scene."

I have many open boxes of ammunition in many calibers. Does that mean if someone is shot within 100 yards of my home with a caliber that I own that I am guilty? Pretty flimsy evidence IMO.

There is nothing to tie Barajas to the shooting. No gun was recovered, no eyewitness states that Barajas killed Banda or that Barajas even had a gun. Gunpowder residue tests came up negative. Unless there is a surprise witness or forensics, the prosecution has nothing IMO and Barajas will walk due to no actual evidence that he killed Banda.

[blueberryhill]

I very much believe that a good person can kill someone when they have harmed their children; however, as much as I would like to endorse vigilante justice at times, think Barajas, if convicted, would need to spend some jail time to keep order in our society. I would have complete empathy for him, but some facts of this case just jump out. First of all, what 30 year old man with a family drives without taking responsibility to fill his gas tank. O.K. someone in my family does that and it bugs the heck out of me......Anyway, he runs out of gas, dark road, no lights, kids in back pushing car. The father put them in harm's way. No, the drunk (I assume a toxicology test was done to determine how the degree of impairment) should not have been driving, but in this country, we rarely send repeat offenders to jail, we keep releasing them to drive and possibly kill themselves and/or others. If you are driving at night, just assume that there are drunk drivers on the road. When drunk drivers kill someone, normally they have a record of DUIs. Maybe if after a couple, they had to do time with in-house treatment, they would be off the road and Barajas children would not be dead. I don't remember reading if Banda had history of DUIs but bet he did. In any case, it is a tragedy that is repeated over and over every day.

[HairOfTheDog]

TODAY IN COURT: NO SMOKING GUN -- ACTUALLY, NO GUN AT ALL

Snip:
The attorney for Barajas argued with investigators Monday that none of the evidence they have presented at trial directly links his client to the murder.

Investigators testified Monday they found a gun holster and ammunition in the home of David Barajas, who is accused of going to his house, retrieving a gun and then shooting Banda in December 2012 near Alvin minutes after Banda plowed into a vehicle that Barajas and his two sons had been pushing on a rural road.

While the murder weapon was never found, prosecutors have suggested that the holster and ammunition were evidence that Barajas owned a weapon. Barajas' lawyer, Sam Cammack, has denied his client ever owned a gun.

Chris Anderson, a former investigator with the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office, testified that the day after the accident, he searched Barajas' mobile home and found the empty gun holster and a box of ammunition for a .357 caliber handgun.

Cammack asked (investigator) Anderson how the holster tied Barajas to the crime if no gun was found.

Anderson said tests showed a bullet fragment found in Banda's car could have possibly come from a .357 caliber weapon and the holster could hold such a handgun.

Cammack said tests showed the bullet fragment could have also come from a 9mm handgun or a .38 caliber weapon.

"The search (of Barajas' home) came back with a big fat zero," Cammack said. "That is not correct," said Anderson.

Another investigator, Kent Nielson, testified he found at Barajas' house a home security system that had a missing hard drive. Prosecutors have said security cameras outside of Barajas' home could have captured video of the crash site.

But when questioned by Cammack, Nielson said he didn't know if the security system was working on the night of the accident.

Cammack has focused his efforts at Barajas' trial, which began last week, on suggesting that Banda could have been shot by several other people who fled the crash site.

Full story: http://www.wfla.com/story/26364791/trial...texas-town
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What's next in the trial?
Prosecutors are wrapping their case-in-chief today. The defense is beginning its case-in-chief tomorrow. Then there will be closing arguments, followed by jury deliberations. Both sides expect deliberations to begin by week's end.

There is plenty of circumstantial evidence pointing to Barajas (personally, I believe he shot and killed Banda), which is what a good percentage of cases rest upon. But, in this case, I think there are too many loose ends for prosecutors to secure a conviction.

I don't think the defense will call a lot of witnesses, if any. They're in good shape for an acquittal as it stands, IMO, and won't want any witness to open the door to something that could backfire on cross-examination.

[Cutz]

agree with ya. If he did it, he was smart about covering up the loose ends. No weapon, no powder burns, no security tape, no witnesses.

He either watches a lot of tv, got really lucky, or possibly he's an international hit man.

[HairOfTheDog]

He either watches a lot of tv, got really lucky, or possibly he's an international hit man.

Or, he was just focused on what he wanted to do and had help in covering it up.

Moments after the accident when the the teens arrived on the scene, Barajas told them "not to let them go" -- referring to whomever was in the car -- and the teens parked their car in front of Banda's. That's when the teens say that Barajas disappeared from the scene for 3 minutes, came back and approached Banda's car. After which, the teens and the cafeteria worker heard gunshots.

The two responding officers "forgot" to include in their police reports the fact that shots were fired at a fatal accident and murder crime scene?

Aside from the exact details, its not really a mystery in my mind what went down that night. A few people decided that Banda deserved the death penalty and his executioner didn't deserve to face legal consequences for delivering it. Quickly -- everybody agrees that they didn't see the shooting, somebody takes and ditches a gun, somebody gets rid of home surveillance video (if it was even functioning at that time). It's not difficult, even that moron Aaron Hernandez -- with a little help from his friends -- managed to accomplish all of that immediately after (allegedly) committing murder.

Gun powder residue washes off with hot water and soap or after about 48 hours. Barajas was taken to the hospital directly from the scene where he was probably cleaned thoroughly with disinfectant. I don't know how long it was between the accident and the time the residue tests were administered, but unless they were done before that (which I doubt, considering there was no warrant), it doesn't surprise me that the test results came back negative, even if Barajas pulled the trigger.

While I still think it's possible that the shooter was one of the cops (though it's more likely to me that they just advised and assisted Barajas in destroying evidence after-the-fact) or one of the witnesses, it's far more likely to me that Barajas retrieved an unregistered gun from his home or glove box and used it to kill his sons' killer.

Since I still have reasonable doubt however, I couldn't vote for a guilty verdict if I were on the jury.

[Duchess]

Have we ever seen a crime where even the cops were involved in the coverup for someone accused of murder? I guess I understand when they coverup for one of their own but to coverup what amounts to murder kinda boggles the mind.