LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - An accident is reported on the southbound lane of I-35 Monday morning.

The accident happened at around 9:45 a.m. on the southbound lane of I-35 near Lafayette.

According to a witness, a red truck crashed into a barrier.

As a result, only one lane is open for travel while crews work to clear the scene.

No word on any injuries at the moment, but a passerby said the truck had visible damages.

Drivers are being urged to proceed with caution.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - Four teenagers are killed following a tragic car accident in south Laredo Sunday morning.

According to the Laredo Police Department, the incident happened at about 1:30 a.m. near Highway 359 and Cuatro Vientos.

Authorities say, a single vehicle lost control, went off road, air-borne and crashed.

The vehicle caught fire and a total of four people were killed in the crash.

According to the Laredo Police, the victims were two 18-year-old men, one man age 17, and a 15-year-old girl.

Police say the vehicle belonged to the female.

Due to the nature of the accident, Laredo Police will use DNA and other medical records to confirm the identity of the four deceased victims.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) -Our heat will continue through the 7 day forecast period. A cooler airmass from the Great Plains will not reach us, but will be close enough during Tuesday for a slim chance of a shower (slim chance, I will watch). The dome of heat, while not quite as intense and tall, will still be our weather control though the forecast period. 

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — A group of nonprofits and migrant advocacy organizations is suing the Biden administration against its asylum policies put in place after Title 42 was lifted.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this week on behalf of Al Otro Lado, Haitian Bridge Alliance, and nine individual plaintiffs who argue that migrants have been unable to access the CBP One app to secure asylum appointments, as required under Title 8 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The case was filed Wednesday in southern California against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and is being represented by the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the American Immigration Council and the Center for Constitution Rights, among others.

The preliminary injunction asks the court to block the government from implementing what they call a “turnback policy” until the case is decided.

“Access to the asylum process should not be run like a deli counter, where you get a number and wait for your sandwich. Refugees do not have the luxury of waiting on a CBP One appointment to save their lives, because many of them are being hunted all the way to the border. CBP’s refusal to process refugees who do not have a CBP One appointment will only push them to cross through the desert, where many of them will die, or will keep them trapped in Mexico, where many of them will also die,” said Nicole Ramos, director of Al Otro Lado’s Border Rights Project.

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly said the policy, formally called the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways, provides real consequences for those who illegally enter the country and allows asylum-seekers the opportunities to present their asylum claims to officers at the border “in a humane and orderly” way. The policy was implemented after Title 42 was lifted in May. That public health policy had prevented asylum-seekers from claiming asylum at the U.S. border since 2020 in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Now, migrants must wait for an appointment, cannot cross the border into the U.S. illegally, and they must file for asylum in other countries they first come to from their homeland in order to be considered for asylum in the United States.

ICE expands Expedited Removal and curfew program

Migrant advocates say this has put a hardship on vulnerable populations waiting south of the border for appointments who are subject to inhumane conditions in Mexican border towns where known cartel and other crimes regularly occur.

Highway gun battle leaves four men dead in Juarez

“The only alternative, which is to schedule an appointment to present at the border through the CBP One app, is not working for vulnerable groups, with a particular impact on women and Black and Indigenous asylum seekers,” Nicole Phillips, legal director at the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said in a statement.

“Every day the government’s unlawful turnback policy remains in place, people seeking safety are stranded in precarious conditions where their lives are at risk. Our courageous plaintiffs have recounted harrowing experiences of violence, discrimination, and homelessness as a direct result of the policy. Their stories represent just the tip of the iceberg. This policy is costing lives. The court must step in now,” said Neela Chakravartula, Managing Attorney at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, recently told Border Report that the asylum policy has too many loopholes and exceptions, including allowing unaccompanied children to cross the border, and for thousands from certain Latin American and Caribbean countries to be paroled into the United States legally by DHS every month.

Krikorian said his organization wants to see the Biden administration restart the “Remain in Mexico” policy that was in effect under the Trump administration, which required most asylum-seekers to wait south of the border until their U.S. immigration cases are adjudicated.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - A Border Patrol supervisor finds himself on the wrong side of the law after an alleged dispute with police officers.

Laredo police arrested 38-year-old Mark Anthony Rocha who was off-duty at the time.

The incident happened after midnight Friday morning at the 100 block of Washingtonia Dr.

According to Laredo police, it started with an accident regarding a parked vehicle at the location.

The driver who was Rocha’s wife was speaking with officers when Rocha arrived at the scene and allegedly started to argue with officers.

“After being told that the investigation was happening, he disregarded the officer’s commands and closed the door on the officers. The officers attempted once again to talk to him, and that was when he disobeyed the officers’ commands and they brought him out of the vehicle,” said Ofc. Jose Espinoza.

Rocha was charged with interfering with public duties and resisting arrest.

We reached out to Border Patrol for a statement, but they have not gotten back to us.

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - After a day of jury selection, the trial got underway for Joel David Chavez, the man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend back in September of 2020.

On Monday, two witnesses took the stand. Those included Gracy Espinoza’s sister, Maria, as well as Gracy’s friend, Ryan Christopher Mendiola.

On Tuesday morning, the state called on Jayden Luis Lopez to the stand. He had been working at a Whataburger restaurant on the night of Sept. 9, 2020.

Lopez said he had just gotten out of work at around 11:30 p.m. and decided to go home where he met up with a friend with the name of Alex Martinez.

Martinez left Lopez’s house at around 1:20 a.m.

When Lopez was walking Martinez out of the house, Lopez said that after the headlights flashed from Martinez’s car, he saw a girl walking on the side of the street.

As soon as the headlights hit her, she moved out of the street and kept walking on the other side.

The state brought out a map to show where Lopez lived.

Lopez said the car was facing toward the park when his friend Alex was leaving. He then described what the girl was wearing: a Nixon letterman jacket.

Lopez said the girl was coming from the Nixon Park area and was walking south.

The assistant district attorney brought out the letterman jacket to demonstrate if that was the one he saw on the night in question.

Lopez confirmed it was the same one he saw that night.

He said he recognized it by the leather.

Lopez said that Gracy had crossed the street after being hit with the light, and added that there was a guy waiting for her.

Lopez said Gracy met with the guy who was wearing all black, had white skin tone, and had glasses at the time, according to his memory.

Lopez said he walked back home after Alex left and saw a guy having an argument with that woman, but said he didn’t pay too much attention but still felt there was something wrong.

Lopez said he went back inside because “it was not his business”.

Lopez then told the court that he was not able to see the guy’s face and didn’t recognize the girl.

He testified that he stayed home after that.

The very next day, Lopez noticed a lot of police officers and investigators outside.

Lopez said his family noticed first and that an investigator went inside his home to ask if they saw anything.

Lopez spoke to the officers and said his house has two cameras; one was a doorbell camera and the other faced the driveway.

The state then passed the witness.

Defense attorney Roberto Balli started his cross-examination by asking Lopez if he is the same Jayden Lopez who is on probation for burglary.

Lopez said he is, to which the state quickly objected and a sidebar ensued with Judge Notzon.

Balli continued to speak about the burglary charge, saying that Lopez has been on probation since 2021 for burglary of a home.

As part of his plea deal, the state dismissed a firearm charge and Lopez confirmed that to be the case.

Balli said that the state knew he was a witness to this case, but Lopez responded with that he wasn’t sure.

Balli went through a timeline of his case and stated that if Lopez violates his probation, he can go to jail. Lopez found no error in that assessment.

During the time of the question, the police did not go into his home and take anything from Lopez’s house such as phone data or DNA.

Balli asked if he was in the area where Gracy was found and Lopez responded that was correct.

The defense then passed the witness.

The assistant district attorney asked Lopez if he was the one who killed Gracy Espinoza to which Lopez responded, “No”.

The state brought up Lopez’s run-in with the law, to which Lopez responded that he is a changed person and is now focusing on work and changing his life. He even went on to say that his parents are strict.

The state then passed the witness.

Balli then asked Lopez, “If your parents are so strict, why didn’t they stop him from breaking into the house?”

Lopez could only contend that his parents did the best that they could.

After a while, the defense rested and the state declined to ask anything else and Jayden was let go.

The state then called on Christy Gonzalez, a lifelong Laredo resident who currently works at the outlet mall.

On Sept. 9, 2020, Gonzalez said she was out at a friend’s house on Frost Street close to Sanchez Ochoa.

She arrived at 8 p.m. and said they were watching a fight.

Gonzalez said they had a cookout until about 3 a.m.

During that cookout, alcoholic beverages were involved, and Gonzalez said she wasn’t drunk but a bit ‘buzzed’, and ended up walking home because of an argument she was having with a friend.

Gonzalez said the walking route that she took was all over the place because she took small streets to avoid her friends who were looking for her.

Messages from Gonzalez and her friends were shown during the time she was walking home.

The first one was with a friend’s husband, Efrain, at around 3:36 a.m.

Another text exchange is shown with Mirsa, Efrain’s wife, the friend she was having an argument with.

Gonzalez said she made it to Plum Street when she hit the cemetery.

The state brought out a satellite map and pointed out that she was walking toward Nixon.

Gonzalez stopped at the park at that point because she realized that her Lyft arrived at her friend’s house.

Gonzalez said she was on the phone with her Lyft driver to try to request the driver to go to the park on Plum Street but the driver refused to go there.

Gonzalez said there was some light, while she was waiting by herself.

A state exhibit showed screenshots of the Lyft driver who canceled Gonzalez’s ride at 3:56 a.m.

Gonzalez was at the park when she heard some music in the area.

She kept walking towards Nixon.

She was at the benches in the park so she had to pass the baseball field.

Gonzalez said she stayed on the well-lit side of the sidewalk.

The assistant district attorney asked Gonzalez if she saw a dead body or a person sleeping in the area.

Gonzalez replied, “No”.

The assistant district attorney asked Gonzalez if she saw a body would she have noticed and Gonzalez said, she would have because she was aware of her surroundings and wanted to be safe.

Gonzalez said she ended up arriving home at 4 a.m. and went to sleep right after.

Gonzalez said that she went to work at around 10:45 a.m the next day.

She said that a friend went into the store and told her that they had found someone in the area.

The assistant district attorney asked Gonzalez if she saw anything, but Gonzalez replied that she did not see a body or hear any yelling or screaming at that time.

The state passed the witness and defense attorney Roberto Balli asked about the cookout.

Balli asked what type of beverages she was drinking.

Gonzalez said they were drinking beers and shots, estimating that she had four shots and had drank six beers during the course of the night.

Balli went to the text messages where Efrain said he was worried about her.

Balli said that her judgment wasn’t the best that night, since she was acting a little dramatic with some of her actions and responses through texts.

Gonzalez said she was more triggered by her friend’s persisteance in wanting to debate the issue they were arguing.

Balli said that Gonzalez’s friend was trying to make peace, according to the text messages, to which Gonzalez agreed that they were concerned for her safety.

Balli brought out a satellite map where Gonzalez was sitting by the benches at the park on her phone.

Gonzalez said she eventually found out where the body was found.

Balli zoomed into the area of the park benches.

Balli pointed to where the body was located and Gonzalez stated that she would have seen the body since it was near the location she had passed by.

Balli said that she had been drinking, on the phone, and scanning the neighborhood while walking.

Gonzalez said although she was drinking during the cookout, she was “not out of her mind”.

Balli said she still ended up walking on her own, but Gonzalez maintains that her state of mind was coherent.

The defense passed the witness.

The state then spoke about the drinking issue, saying that Gonzalez was fine and could have had more if she wanted to.

Gonzalez stormed off because she did not want to continue with the fight over the dumb argument, she testified.

The state re-examined the text messages and pointed out that there were no misspellings, a common indicator that she would not have been in control of her actions.

The state showed the map of Gonzalez and said she was concerned at the park because she heard music and thought people were nearby.

The state asked if Gonzalez had seen how the body was found, with the letterman jacket, and how the body was positioned at the light post.

Gonzalez said yes because that was the same light post that she walked by at around 3:56 a.m.

Gonzalez maintained that she did not see anybody or anything there at that time, however.

The assistant district attorney asked if she was the one who killed Gracy Espinoza to which Gonzalez said she did not.

The state then called on Heriberto Garcia who lived at the apartment building next to Gracy.

Garcia said it was more of a “hi and bye” kind of relationship.

Garcia recalled the events of Sept. 10, 2020, when he was talking to police.

He said he heard racket and noise at around 1 a.m.

Garcia said he heard an argument through the walls that lasted for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Gracy’s neighbor said there was a loud thump when things got very quiet after that.

Garcia said he could hear more mumbling but nothing distinct; he even said it gave him the creeps.

Garcia said that he thought about calling the police but decided to stay quiet because he did not want to get involved.

The very next morning, things stayed “extremely quiet”. A few hours later, police spoke to Garcia.

The state then passed the witness.

Roberto Balli started with a picture of the apartment building.

Balli continued with the testimony that Garcia gave Detective Raimundo saying that the thump was like a bicycle hitting the wall.

At around 2:30 a.m. Gracy left, according to Garcia’s testimony, which is the only time he heard someone leaving the premises.

The next time he heard someone was Gracy’s mother the very next day.

Garcia said the apartment building has small apartments and he is more aware of what happens in the area.

The defense then passed the witness.

The state asked Garcia if his memory was fresher the day of, than the other time when he was interviewed by detectives. Garcia agrees that his memory was fresher the day of.

The defense said that nothing has changed; however, Garcia agrees that he has told detectives the same thing from the beginning.

After a ten-minute break called by Judge Notzon, the state called on Adan Cedillo who works for the City of Laredo as a trucking superintendent who supervises six employees.

Part of the employees’ duties included constructing sidewalks at the 1900 block of Plum Street on September 10th.

Cedillo said he received a call from an operator about a body that was close to the job site and told his employees to wait at the location until police arrived.

The state published the phone call Cedillo made to police about the body they found.

In the call, Cedillo said it seemed to be of a female who was wearing a high school jacket.

He said it took about five to ten minutes for the police to arrive.

The state then passed the witness and the defense declined to question.

The state then called on Eduardo Fierro, an officer for the Laredo Police Department who has been employed for 20 years to date.

On Sept. 10, Fierro said he had just finished breakfast with the police officers when they received a call from the dispatch about a “man down”.

Fierro drove to the scene and said he saw somebody laying on the floor.

As per protocol he put gloves on to make sure everything was okay and found a woman lying on the ground.

Fierro said he was wearing a body camera that day.

The bodycam footage shows Fierro putting on the gloves next to the body.

Fierro is then seen talking to workers.

The state paused the video task Fierro questions about the crime scene.

The state gave Fierro some exhibits to look at which were the photos of the crime scene.

The photos showed Gracy’s body between a light pole and a fence.

Fierro describes the pictures and the manner in which Gracy’s body was found.

The state showed various photos from different angles as well as close-ups of Gracy’s body.

The pictures showed blood on the grass, as well as broken glass and pictures of a “blood trail”.

Fierro told the court that these are accurate depictions of what he saw on that day.

The state brought out a satellite map and asked Fierro to point out where he saw the body that day.

Fierro was able to point out where he found Gracy’s body and the state passed the witness.

The defense then asked to bring up the bodycam video.

Balli pointed out that Fierro was seen putting on the gloves to which Fierro explains that it was for safety.

Balli paused the video where Fierro sees the body and spoke about the “possible 82″, which is code for a deceased person.

Balli asked Fierro about the procedure that follows after a discovery is made.

Balli paused the video again to point out that other people were in the area, saying that it is possible that people could inadvertently or on purpose mess with the crime scene to which Fierro said is a possibility.

The video continued and Balli pauses a little while later and said at this point, Fierro has to worry about the integrity of the crime scene.

Balli points out that there is only one other officer there at the beginning, pointing out the lack of manpower to which Fierro agreed.

Balli said the individuals and the cars are within what is considered to be the crime scene and Fierro agreed.

Balli pointed out that it is better to have the individuals outside the crime scene and Fierro agreed.

The defense then passed the witness.

Fierro stated that there was cloudy conditions that morning.

The state then displayed an up-close photo of Gracy on the ground.

Fierro explained that he moved the jacket a little bit to see if she was breathing.

He said the jacket looked like it was just placed on her.

According to Fierro, the body was in between the pole and the fence.

The state then played more of the bodycam footage from that day.

The footage shows Fierro getting out of the vehicle after paramedics arrived at the scene.

Fierro then discusses with a colleague if they should close off the area.

Officer Fierro said he was following protocol when the state paused the video.

Fierro reiterated that he is concerned with securing the crime scene.

Eventually turns the investigation over to the CAPERS Division and Officer Fierro is let go.

The state then called Luis Raines next, an officer who has been with the Laredo Police Department for 26 years.

Over the years, Raines specialized in accident reconstruction and can create diagrams after investigating accidents.

Raines was part of the crash team and had to be trained to be able to investigate those accidents to an extent and has testified in other cases before.

Investigator Raines said the call initially came in as an auto-pedestrian accident.

Raines said he and a team were called to the scene and the first thing he did was assess the situation.

After that, Raines said they set up equipment called a Surveyor’s tool to gather the points.

The state published exhibits, the first one, Officer Rains described the point list to jurors.

The first column is a reference point, where they set up the machine; other columns represent points being recorded such as the body, and the blood; all to recreate the scene.

The next photo shown was a diagram that comes from those points.

The diagram was labeled with a bunch of points, eyeglasses, drag marks, blood, the body, scrap marks, where the light pole was and the fence.

The next diagram is where they found blood and blood droplets they found at the scene.

The state asked about all the spots where they found blood.

Officer Raines said the tools and software are “accurate” and said it is being used all over the industry.

The program is called ‘Reveal’, to create diagrams that can re-create crime scenes, auto-peds, etc.

The state asked Officer Raines about one blood drop across the street, Officer Raines said they follow that drop to the rest of the blood trail.

The state then passed the witness.

Robert Balli pointed out the diagram that showed where they found all the blood spots.

Balli asked Raines who his team was for that day.

Rain said there is usually three or four officers that help him out. Raines said he was there for two hours when he called.

Raines says when the site is closed off, he didn’t allow anybody inside. Balli pointed out that Raines didn’t know how many people had walked through the area, to which Raines agreed.

Balli asked Raines about when the medical examiner arrived.

Balli points out that in the diagram, the point of blood that was across the street.

Balli said more evidence was collected at another time across from that blood point.

Balli asks if Raines saw any blood across from the blood point on the corner of the street, but Raines replies that he did not. Raines said he walked the area and that’s what they found.

The defense then passed the witness.

The state discusses the blood on the street and said it was not a smear but a drop.

The state said it would be impossible for Raines to do his job if he didn’t walk the scene and Officer Raines agrees.

The state passed the witness and the defense declines to question.

The state then called on Gracy’s mother Mayra Rivera, 44, to the scene.

Rivera said she knows Chavez because he was her daughter’s boyfriend.

Rivera said Gracy did not want to continue a relationship with Chavez.

According to Rivera, the two started dating in June and Chavez moved into her house around July after about a month of dating.

Rivera said that Chavez took Gracy to the beach during the covid pandemic and that Chavez’s parents didn’t want Chavez in the house because he took the car and they got mad.

Chavez needed a place to stay, so Chavez stayed at Gracy’s house and the parents took his car, according to Rivera.

During the beginning of the relationship between Gracy and Chavez, Rivera saw Chavez as a “Nice boy” but Gracy told her he was all over her.

Rivera recalled one incident where Gracy crushed Chavez’s fingers when he tried opening the window and Chavez called the police.

The police officers arrived, and he was trying to open the window because they were fighting and Gracy locked herself into the room, according to Rivera.

Rivera said that Gracy did not want to talk to Chavez, and Chavez attempted to get in by opening the window but Gracy crushed his fingers.

When police arrived, the police said to take out Chavez’s stuff on the sidewalk and let his parents take his belongings.

The state then asked Rivera if the police did not arrest Gracy to which Rivera agreed.

Gonzalez said she ended up arriving at home at 4 a.m. and went to sleep right after.

Gonzalez said that she went to work at around 10:45 a.m.

She said that a friend went into the store and told her that they had found someone in the area.

The assistant district attorney asked Gonzalez if she saw anything but Gonzalez replied that she did not see a body or hear any yelling or screaming at that time.

The state passed the witness and defense attorney Roberto Balli asked about the cookout.

Balli asked what type of beverages she was drinking.

Gonzalez said they were drinking beers and shots.

Gonzalez said she had four shots and drank six beers.

Balli went to the text messages where Efrain said he was worried about her.

Ballli said that her judgement wasn’t the best that night.

Gonzalez said she was more triggered over her friend wanting to debate the hair issue.

Balli said that Gonzalez’s friend was trying to make peace, according to the text messages to which Gonzalez agreed that they were concerned for her safety.

Balli brought out a satellite map where Gonzalez was sitting by the benches at the park on her phone.

Gonzalez said she eventually found out where the body was found.

Balli zoomed into the area of the park benches.

Balli pointed to where the body was located and Gonzalez stated that she would have seen the body since it was near the location she had passed by.

Balli said that she had been drinking, on the phone and scanning the neighborhood while walking.

Gonzalez said during the cookout, she was “Not out of her mind”.

Balli said she still ended up walking on her own but Gonzalez maintains that her state of mind was coherent and the defense passed the witness.

The state then spoke about the drinking issue, saying that Gonzalez was find and could have had more if she wanted to.

Gonzalez stormed off because she did not want to continue with the fight over the dumb argument.

The state reexamined the text messages and said that there were no misspellings.

The state showed the map of Gonzalez and said she was concerned at the park because she heard music and thought people were nearby.

The state asked if Gonzalez had seen how the body was found with the letterman jacket and how the body was positioned at the light post.

Gonzalez said yes that was the same light post that she walked by at around 3:56 a.m.

Gonzalez maintains that she did not see anybody or anything there at that time.

The assistant district attorney asked if she was the one who killed Gracy Espinoza to which Gonzalez said she did not.

The state rests and Christy Gonzalez is let go.

The state then called on Heriberto Garcia who lived at the apartment building next to Gracy.

Garcia said it was more of a “hi and bye kind” of relationship.

Garcia recalled the events of Sept. 10, 2020 when he was talking to police.

He said he heard a racket and noise at around 1 a.m.

Garcia said he heard an argument through the walls that lasted for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Garcia said there was a loud thump and after that moment things got very quiet.

Garcia said he could hear more mumbling but nothing distinct; he even said it gave him the creeps.

Garcia said that he thought about calling the police but decided to stay quiet because he did not want to get involved.

The very next morning, things were extremely quiet. A few hours later, police spoke to Garcia.

The state then passed the witness.

Roberto Balli started with a picture of the apartment building.

Balli pointed out that the door that was open was Gracy’s apartment/

Balli continued with the testimony that he gave Detective Raimundo saying that the thump was like a bicycle hitting the wall.

At around 2:30 a.m. Gracy left according to Garcia’s testimony, which is the only time he heard someone leaving the premises.

The next time he heard someone was Gracy’s mother the very next day.

Garcia said the apartment building has small apartments and he is more aware of what happens in the area.

The defense then passed the witness.

The state asked Garcia if his memory was fresher the day of, than the other time when he was interviewed by detectives. Garcia agrees that his memory was fresher the day of.

The defense said that nothing has changed; however, Garcia agrees that he has told detectives the same thing from the beginning.

After a ten minute break called by Judge Notzon, the state called on Adan Cedillo who works for the City of Laredo as a trucking superintendent who supervises six employees.

Part of the employees’ duties were constructing sidewalks at the 1900 block of Plum Street.

Cedillo said he received a call from an operator about a body that was close to the job site.

Cedillo told his employees to wait at the location and called police to the scene.

The state published the phone call Cedillo made to police about the body they found.

The call was about a ten minute call

Cedillo said it seemed to be of a female who was wearing a high school jacket.

He said it took about five to ten minutes for the police to arrive.

The state then passed the witness and the defense declined to question.

The state then called on Eduardo Fierro, an officer for the Laredo Police Department who has been employed for 20 years to date.

On Sept. 10, Fierro said he had just finished breakfast with the police officers when they received a call from the dispatch about a “man down”.

Fierro drove to the scene and said he saw somebody laying on the floor.

As per protocol he put gloves on to make sure everything was okay and found a women lying on the ground.

Fierro said he was wearing a body camera that day.

The bodycam footage shows Fierro putting on the gloves next the body.

Fierro is then seen talking to workers.

The state paused the video task Fierro questions about the crime scene.

The state gave Fierro some exhibits to look at which were the photos of the crime scne.

The photos showed Gracy’s body between a light pole and a fence.

Fierro describes the pictures and the manner in which Gracy’s body was found.

The state showed various photos from different angles as well as close ups of Gracy’s body.

The pictures showed blood on the grass, as well as broken glass and pictures of a “blood trail”.

Fierro told the court that these are accurate depictions of what he saw on that day.

The state brought out a satellite map and asked Fierro to point out where he saw the body that day.

Fierro was able to point out where he found Gracy’s body and the state passed the witness.

The defense then asked to bring up the bodycam video.

Balli pointed out that Fierro was seen putting on the gloves to which Fierro explains that it was for safety.

Balli paused the video where Fierro sees the body and spoke about the “possible 82″, which is code for a deceased person.

Balli asked Fierro about the procedure that follows after a discovery is made.

Balli paused the video again to point out other people in the area saying that it is possible that people could inadvertently or on purpose mess with the crime scene to which Fierro said is a possibility.

The video continues and Balli pauses a little while later and said at this point, Fierro has to worry about the integrity of the crime scene.

Balli points out that there is only one other officer there at the beginning, pointing out the lack of manpower to which Fierro agreed.

Balli said the individuals and the cars are within what is considered to be the crime scene to which Fierro agreed.

Balli pointed out that it is better to have the individuals outside the crime scene and Fierro agreed.

The defense then passed the witness.

Fierro stated that it was cloudy conditions that morning.

The state then displayed an up-close photo of Gracy on the ground.

Fierro explained that he moved the jacket a little bit to see if she was breathing.

He said the jacket looked like it was just placed on her.

According to Fierro, the body was in between the pole and the fence.

The state then passed the witness.

Balli then brought up the up-close photo of Gracy on the ground.

Fierro said he gently moved the jacket when he put his gloves on.

The defense then passed the witness.

The state then played more of the bodycam footage from that day.

The footage shows Fierro get inside his patrol vehicle and drive to the park and the moment when he starts to write the report inside his car.

The footage shows Fierro getting out of the vehicle after paramedics arrived at the scene.

Fierro then discusses with a colleague if they should close off the area.

Officer Fierro said he was following protocol when the state paused the video.

Fierro reiterated that he is concerned with securing the crime scene.

Eventually turns the investigation over to the CAPERS Division

The state then pauses and the defense declines to question.

The state then called on Luis Raines, an officer who has been with the Laredo Police Department for 26 years.

Over the years, Raines specialized in accident reconstruction and can create diagrams when investigating accidents.

Raines was part of the crash team and had to be trained to be able to investigate those accidents to an extent and has even testified before.

The call initially came in as an auto-pedestrian accident.

Raines said he and a team were called to the scene and the first thing he did was to assess the situation.

After that, Raines said they set up equipment called a Surveyor’s tool which gathers the points, he said the data is helpful to the investigation.

The state published exhibits, the first one, Officer Rains described the point list to jurors.

The first column is a reference point, where they set up the machine; other columns represent points being recorded such as the body, and the blood; all to recreate the scene.

The next photo shown was a diagram that comes from those points.

The diagram was labeled with a bunch of points, eyeglasses, drag marks, blood, the body, scrap marks, where the light pole was and the fence.

The next diagram is where they found blood and blood droplets they found at the scene.

The state asked about all the spots where they found blood.

Officer Raines said the tools and software are “accurate” and said it is being used all over the industry.

The program is called ‘Reveal’, to create diagrams that can re-create crime scenes, auto-peds, etc.

The state asked Officer Raines about one blood drop across the street, Officer Raines said they follow that drop to the rest of the blood trail.

The state then passed the witness.

Robert Balli pointed out the diagram that showed where they found all the blood spots.

Balli asked Raines who his team was for that day.

Rain said there is usually three or four officers that help him out. Raines said he was there for two hours when he called.

Raines says when the site is closed off, he didn’t allow anybody inside. Balli pointed out that Raines didn’t know how many people had walked through the area, to which Raines agreed.

Balli asked Raines about when the medical examiner arrived.

Balli points out that in the diagram, the point of blood that was across the street.

Balli said more evidence was collected at another time across from that blood point.

Balli asks if Raines saw any blood across from the blood point on the corner of the street, but Raines replies that he did not. Raines said he walked the area and that’s what they found.

The defense then passed the witness.

The state discusses the blood on the street and said it was not a smear but a drop.

The state said it would be impossible for Raines to do his job if he didn’t walk the scene and Officer Raines agrees.

The state passed the witness and the defense declines to question.

The state then called on Gracy’s mother Mayra Rivera, 44, to the scene.

Rivera said she knows Chavez because he was her daughter’s boyfriend.

Rivera said Gracy did not want to continue a relationship with Chavez.

According to Rivera, the two started dating in June and Chavez moved into her house around July after about a month of dating.

Rivera said that Chavez took Gracy to the beach during the covid pandemic and that Chavez’s parents didn’t want Chavez in the house because he took the car and they got mad.

Chavez needed a place to stay, so Chavez stayed at Gracy’s house and the parents took his car, according to Rivera.

During the beginning of the relationship between Gracy and Chavez, Rivera saw Chavez as a “Nice boy” but Gracy told her he was all over her.

Rivera recalled one incident where Gracy crushed Chavez’s fingers when he tried opening the window and Chavez called the police.

The police officers arrived, and he was trying to open the window because they were fighting and Gracy locked herself into the room, according to Rivera.

Rivera said that Gracy did not want to talk to Chavez, and Chavez attempted to get in by opening the window but Gracy crushed his fingers.

When police arrived, the police said to take out Chavez’s stuff on the sidewalk and let his parents take his belongings.

The state then asked Rivera if the police did not arrest her to which Rivera agreed.

Rivera then recalled the morning of Sept. 10, 2020, the day that Gracy was found dead.

Filled with emotions, Rivera spoke about Sept. 9, the day that she had a cookout and told Gracy that she would see her the next day.

Ms. Rivera saw the police and they asked if that was her daughter.

Rivera said she didn’t get that close to the body, but she immediately recognized her shoes from afar.

Rivera said she then knocked on Chavez’s door and asked him if Gracy was there to which Chavez replied that she wasn’t there because he caught her texting another guy.

Rivera said she noticed that Chavez was acting very strange, as if he had been crying all night.

She then went back home to look for Gracy, but she wasn’t there.

Rivera said that they were looking for an apartment together and she was worried about Gracy and Chavez living together.

Rivera told Gracy not to go with Chavez because he would hit her and now that they would be alone together, Gracy told her that would not happen and that she was pregnant.

The state asked Rivera, who opened the door to the apartment and Rivera pointed at Chavez in the courtroom.

Rivera said that Chavez opened the door but kept his foot there so she couldn’t see what was in the apartment.

The state then passed the witness to the defense.

Roberto Balli brought up the window incident and asked Rivera how it happened.

Balli then brought out a photo of the apartment where Gracy and Joel lived.

Balli then asked if Ms. Rivera had ever met any boyfriend named, “Ryan”, to which Rivera said no.

Gracy did not tell her about a boyfriend named Ryan.

Balli asked if she knew that Ryan was with her on Sept. 9 and Rivera said no, she didn’t know about Ryan until after Gracy had passed away.

Rivera said that Gracy was always welcomed at her house at any time. Rivera said if Gracy ever needed a place to stay, she could have stayed with her.

The defense then passed the witness.

The state asked Ms. Rivera if she ever took Gracy’s phone away from her; Rivera replied, no.

Rivera said that Chavez ignored Gracy but she could tell that Chavez was afraid.

Gracy didn’t have a job, but Rivera didn’t think that Chavez would provide for her.

Rivera also stated that the bike inside the apartment belonged to Joel.

The state passed the witness.

Balli asked Rivera if she knew that Joel paid for the apartment that the two of them were living out of, to which Rivera said she knew.

Rivera said the two had only been living at the apartment for ten days.

The defense then passed the witness.

The state asked Rivera if she recalled if Gracy went anywhere without her phone.

Rivera said Gracy always had it with her.

The state passed the witness and the defense rest.

The state then called Logan O’Brien, an investigator with the Laredo Police Department.

O’Brien was assisting lead detective Raimundo Garcia with the investigation.

O’Brien’s job was to look for surveillance footage and go to different houses for searches.

O’Brien knew that the defendant’s father was a retired police lieutenant and learned that he was dating Gracy.

According to O’Brien, the father said that he received several phone calls from his son Joel that morning.

The state published a waiver for consent to search, the defendant’s father.

During the search, family members were very emotional including Joel Chavez III, who was crying at the time.

O’Brien asked the family which room Chavez stayed at.

O’Brien stated that Chavez’s room was almost bare.

O’Brien said inside the room they discovered a backpack and ordered a CSI to take a photograph.

The state published photos of the address belonging to Joel Chavez Jr, the father of Joel Chavez III.

The next exhibit was a photograph of the room after Chavez III was picked up.

The state showed a backpack that they had found at the foot of the bed.

The state then called on Laredo Police Department Investigator Daniel Meza to the stand who has been working with the department for nearly 17 years.

Meza specializes in forensic identification services. His duties include crime scene investigation.

Meza recalled working on Sept. 10 during the afternoon hours. Meza went to 319 Glen Cook Drive and found out that Joel Chavez Sr. lived at that residence, a former LPD Lieutenant and the father of Joel Chavez III.

Meza told jurors that the first thing he did was take photos outside the residence and those photos were shown the courtroom.

The other photo was of a Volkswagen Atlas with paper plates which was recently purchased by Chavez’s father.

Meza eventually conducted his investigation into Chavez III’s room.

A photograph of Chavez’s rom was shown to jurors as well as the backpack that was found.

A photograph was shown of what was inside the bag; a belt, a clear plastic bag as well as an extra compartment inside the backpack.

Meza said after taking the photos, he completed the paperwork and returned to the LPD headquarters with Chavez’s backpack.

Meza said, when he got to the station, he started taking things out of the bag one by one.

Meza was asked to show all of the items that he found inside the backpack to the courtroom.

Meza said he found a bike lock, a clear plastic bag, a rain jacket, a sunglasses case, a cloth to clean glasses, a tag, and an AirPods case.

Another photo shows the clear plastic bag with an item inside, it is a shirt. Another item is a purple TCU bag, which was inside the backpack.

Inside the backpack was also an H-E-B receipt, dated Sept. 9, 2020.

The next photo showed a black H-E-B sweater taken out of a clear bag.

The next photo was of black pants which were also inside the backpack along with a black shirt and black belt.

The next photo is what was inside the purple TCU bag; toilet paper, wet ones wipes, ChapStick, loose change, keys, pills and an H-E-B name tag that belonged to Joel.

Inside the back they also found Lysol wipes, baby wipes, Clorox wipes, an H-E-B plastic bag, a black trash bag, and red gloves were shown in another photo.

Meza said that they were inside the clear plastic bag, and the clear plastic bag was inside the trash bag, which all were inside the TCU bag, like a Russian doll set.

The state brought out an exhibit which was the TCU bag as well as various items for the jury; the wet ones, toilet paper, pencil, digestive medication and Joel’s name tag.

The state brought out another evidence bag with the red, black and blue backpack.

The state brought out everything that was inside the backpack.

The assistant district attorney pulled out the large trashbag and then the white H-E-B PLASTIC BAG.

The red gloves were also shown to jurors.

The assistant district attorney demonstrated how all the items were found within one another.

After the backpack was recovered, Meza said once he finished inventory, Meza went to Frost Street and took photos inside Joel Chavez’s apartment.

Meza said he took general photos such as a bin of shoes that was collected.

The state then passed the witness.

Roberto Balli asked Meza if he is with forensic identification services (FIS) which Meza agreed.

Meza said every time he handles a case, he needs to keep court and a jury in mind.

Meza said that’s all correct.

Balli spoke about what Meza has control over: once he takes over the crime scene.

Balli pulled out a picture that showed Joel’s apartment. Meza said that he collected items from the apartment.

A photograph of the apartment on Frost Street was shown to jurors.

Balli said that people could have brought in soil, debris from their shoes inside the apartment to which Meza said it could be true.

Meza said he is not sure that everybody had their shoes covered, but he did.

Balli pulled up a photo of the bedsheet and more photos of the bedroom.

Balli then asked why one photo with the evidence marker, has the bedsheet crumpled up on the floor while the other shows the bedsheets covered on the bed.

Meza said that sometimes they have to take photos from the inside.

Balli said if that is true that the bedsheets should have been placed in an evidence bag, which would have been more proper to which Meza agreed.

Balli said that floor could have picked up DNA from somebody’s shoes and Meza said it is possible.

Balli said even though Meza did not do this, it could still be problematic to which Meza agreeD.

The state picked up questioning and said that Meza could not perform his duties without touching anything or walking anywhere. Meza agrees that he is trained along with other detectives to be mindful of everything. Any officer to the scene is conscious to preserve the scene to which Meza agreed.

Meza said that he did not know if everybody had their shoes covered.

Balli said that everybody is trained to be cautious and preserve the scene, and yet, they should have been trained to not throw that sheet on the floor. Meza reluctantly agrees. Defense stops after that one question.

The state then called on Webb County Medical Examiner Dr. Corrine Stern.

Dr. Stern explained the cause of death versus the manner of death.

Dr. Stern’s testimony is that asphyxiation is what killed Gracy, and all her stab/incision wounds were when she was already dead.

Dr. Stern said when Gracy died, her baby died as well.

The defense declined to question Dr. Stern and the state called on Ivan Estrada.

Estrada is 21-years-old Nixon High School Graduate who currently works at a warehouse.

Estrada recalled the moments of Sept. 9, 2020.

He said he was playing video games at a home located at the 3600 block of Marcia Avenue.

Estrada told the courtroom that he left his house to go to the park with his friend, Javier Jaramillo to go jogging and exercise.

Estrada said he was at the park behind Harmony for about an hour and left at around 9:20 p.m.

After jogging at the park, he went to Mex-Mart to drop off his friend at around 9:30 p.m.

Estrada said he got home a little while later, and started playing video games until 11 p.m.

Estrada said he was watching ‘The Office’ on his brother’s computer from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. on Sept. 10.

Estrada woke up the next day at around 11 a.m. and started texting his friends.

When he logged into Facebook he saw all of the post related to Gracy.

The state brought out the Facebook post that Iven commented under.

It was a long post under the name of ‘Hughge’, (expletive deleted).

Estrada said he knew the person who was behind the account and said it was one of his friend’s meme account.

The state showed Estrada’s account as well as his comment under that long post that read, “I didn’t mean to kill her, it was an accident”.

Hughge’, (expletive deleted) responded to Estrada’s comments saying it was not funny.

Estrada read the whole post in the courtroom about being considerate of the victim who passed away.

The assistant district attorney asked Ivan why he would write a comment like that.

Estrada said it was to make people laugh since it was a meme account.

The assistant district attorney asked Estrada, “When you saw this post did you know what it referenced?” Ivan said he did not.

Estrada stated that he had no idea what ‘Hughge’, (expletive deleted) was talking about and that he just wanted to make someone laugh.

Estrada said that ‘Hughge’, (expletive deleted) posts a lot of satirical posts on his account and this was one that he thought he was joking around.

The assistant district attorney asked Estrada what he did after he posted his comment.

Estrada said he put his phone down and continued watching, “The Office”.

Later that day, Estrada saw a story that read “RIP” and noticed that it was Graciela Espinoza who died.

Estrada said he knew her from ROTC.

After Estrada found out about Gracy’s passing, he said he deleted his post because reality set in.

He said that it was someone he saw and school and interacted with.

Estrada said he realized how ‘stupid’ it was, what he was trying to do for laughs. Had gone to a party to her house, sometime in June after his graduation. Estrada had texted with Gracy about one of his friends that she liked back in the day.

Detectives eventually showed up at Estrada’s house and questioned Ivan.

Estrada said the police asked him about his comment and his post in his room.

Estradasaid they asked about Gracy and he was taken to the station on that same day.

Estrada said that he was cooperative with authorities and answered everything they asked and even provided a DNA sample.

The assistant district attorney brought up the post once again to which Estrada said that he realized that he was joking about someone’s death and that he regrets his comment.

The state then passed the witness.

Balli stated that police only took Estrada’s jacket and nothing from his kitchen such as the knives or his car to which Ivan agreed.

Balli brought up the social media post and said that Gracy’s death was all over social media when he posted.

By the time police were looking for Estrada, he had already deleted his comment.

Estrada said that he was at his house at 9:30 p.m. on the night before Gracy was killed.

During that time, there was a covid-era lockdown for minors, and Estrada said his parents made him follow the curfew.

The meme account was brought into question again, and Estradastated that he had no idea who or what they were talking about because there was nothing associated with a specific person at that time.

The state passed the witness and Balli asked Estrada that he went to a party at Gracy’s house which was in violation of Covid rules.

Estrada said it was before the 10 o clock curfew but Balli stated that it was still a gathering nonetheless even during a time when people were concerned about catching Covid.

The defense passed the witness and the state declined the question.

Ivan Estrada wrapped up testimony and LPD Sergeant Luis Mata was called to the stand.

Sergeant Luis Mata has been with the Laredo Police Department for 18 years.

He supervises roughly 20 officers in west Laredo.

Sgt. Mata was a detective in CAPERS and assisted Raimundo Garcia.

Some of Mata’s duties included Canvasing the area for video and interviewing people of interest.

Sgt. Mata spoke about Estrada’s comment’s on social media implying that he had killed Gracy and said that it made him a suspect.

Authorities were able to track down where Estrada lived where they searched his room to see if they could find any piece of evidence that could tie him to the scene.

Sgt. Mata said it was believed that the suspect was wearing a dark windbreaker so Mata was looking for something along those lines.

Sgt. Mata was able to recover a windbreaker but it had no consistency with being at the scene.

Sgt. Mata also asked Estrada for a saliva swab of DNA to which Estrada consented to. During that time Estrada’s parents told them to be cooperative because of what he had posted.

Sgt. Mata said Estrada was eventually ruled out, but not on that day.

He needed to be interviewed. Interviewed him for his alibi.

Sgt. Mata saidEstrada was ruled out because there was no evidence that tied him to the crime scene or Gracy other than the fact that the two were classmates at Nixon.

Sgt. Mata went on to add that at no point in time did Ivan refuse to cooperate.

Balli then questioned Sgt. Mata about the interrogation of Ivan Estrada.

Balli said that they did not treat Ivan’s house as if it could have been a crime scene to which Mata agreed.

Balli asked Sgt. Mata if it was true that they didn’t take any other items such as knives or articles of clothing to which Mata agreed.

Balli also asked if they didn’t search Estrada’s cell phone to which Mata agreed.

The state said that Sgt. Mata did not need to enter with anything special.

Sgt. Mata said Ivan acknowledged that he went to the park with his friend and then went home.

There was no other indication that he left his house.

Sgt. Mata called Ivan’s comment a very stupid joke.

The state then passed the witness to the defense.

Balli said that they did not check Ivan’s location from his cell phone and Mata agreed that they did not.

Balli said they didn’t check because he is not an expert and Sgt. Mata was let go.