The Garden City Telegram
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DEVELOPING: Murder trial continues with prosecution witnesses
Published 7/21/2009 in Local News : Police
By RACHAEL GRAY
The second day of the Lucas K. Chavez murder trial continued this morning at the Finney County District courthouse with evidence that prosecutors say will convict him on all charges.
Chavez, 24, is charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 1 shooting death of Philip Maurice Brown at 2615 N. Main St., Apt. 6F.
He also is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a firearm including a 9 mm firearm he allegedly used to kill Brown and a .357-caliber firearm he owned.
Chavez entered a not-guilty plea in a May 28 arraignment.
A jury of nine men and five women heard testimonies this morning from the first officers called to the scene. Officer Paul Pauley described the scene at the apartment when he arrived. He said he saw a black man lying in the doorway on his right side with a gunshot wound to the left side of his head. Pauley said the wound was still gushing with blood.
Pauley said upon entry, he and Officer Cody Waggoner found two children in the apartment, one asleep on the couch and the other asleep in the bedroom. Pauley said he smelled marijuana in the apartment.
He said EMS arrived on scene shortly after and pulled the man out of the doorway and rolled him onto his back to assess his condition.
Brian Sherwood, assistant Finney County attorney, presented photos Pauley took of Brown after the EMS crew had moved him out of the doorway.
Brown was taken to St. Catherine Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead with a gunshot wound to the head.
This afternoon, Detective Mark Johnson took the stand, and prosecutors and defense attorneys planned to address issues with photographic and video evidence of the apartment, at 2615 N. Main St., Apt. 6F.
Bradley Hernandez, an acquaintance of Chavez's, testified this afternoon that Chavez came to Scott City and purchased a 9mm handgun from Hernandez's stepfather. The gun was the one allegedly used to shoot and kill Brown.
Hernandez said Chavez bought the gun one or two weeks before Brown's death.
On Monday afternoon, attorneys delivered opening statements in front of Judge Michael L. Quint.
Sherwood outlined evidence and witnesses the prosecution would use during the trial.
According to testimony from several witnesses during an April preliminary hearing, Brown was shot in the doorway of the apartment after a few hours of argument between him and Chavez. Police said at the time of the arrest that they believed the shooting occurred because Chavez was upset with Brown for making advances toward his girlfriend, Amber Riojas.
Kristi Cott, court-appointed public defender who represents Chavez, said the prosecutor's expert witnesses can present evidence given to them to be tested, but that those expert witnesses were not there, so they can't know for sure what happened that night.
Check back at www.gctelegram.com as more details from the trial emerge.
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