LAREDO, TX (KGNS) - Laredo Police arrest two parents after a three-year-old is found walking alone barefoot near a busy street.

Leonel Cerda, 50, and Dailyn Paz, 26 are charged with abandoning and endangering a child.

According to police, the arrest happened after the toddler was found unattended near the 3100 block of Potomac Loop.

Authorities say a passerby spotted the child walking around and notified police.

According to reports, the child told the Good Samaritan they were hungry.

The parents were allegedly found asleep inside a home with the door open.

Police say Child Protective Services was notified about the incident and the child was turned over to the state agency.

LAREDO, TX (KGNS) - Laredo Police arrest two parents after a three-year-old is found walking alone barefoot near a busy street.

Leonel Cerda, 50, and Dailyn Paz, 26 are charged with abandoning and endangering a child.

According to police, the arrest happened after the toddler was found unattended near the 3100 block of Potomac Loop.

Authorities say a passerby spotted the child walking around and notified police.

According to reports, the child told the Good Samaritan they were hungry.

The parents were allegedly found asleep inside a home with the door open.

Police say Child Protective Services was notified about the incident and the child was turned over to the state agency.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - A local ‘Pillar’ in our community is inviting all the monsters and goblins to its upcoming Halloween event taking place this weekend.

The non-profit organization Pillar is hosting its ‘Pride-o-Ween’ event at the El Metro Park and Ride on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Attendees will get a chance to take part in several games and activities while also seeing some of the many services that Pillar has to offer.

There will also be plenty of food and craft vendors selling items that are perfect for celebrating the spooky season.

The event is free and open to the public.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - The sentencing phase began for a man who pleaded guilty to opening fire on Laredo Police officers in Nov. 2019.

Cesar Rene Terrazas pleaded guilty to charges of attempted capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and assault against a public servant for a case that was reported on Nov. 26, 2019, on Knoll Avenue.

Day one of Terrazas’ sentencing trial started with audio recordings, photos, and drone video of the crime scene.

The sentencing trial started with the lead Laredo Police Investigator of the case taking the stand to go over the moments that happened on that day.

As part of the investigator’s testimony, the witness read messages between Debra and Terrazas. The messages indicate that Terrazas was trying to see Debra on that night but she did not want to see him and even threatened to call the cops.

In one of the messages, Cesar reportedly says, “I’m ready to die, call the cops.”

Several photos of the crime scene were shown in court on items found in Terrazas’ vehicle.

The witness stated that he found a total of 81 casings and roughly two to three magazines throughout the investigation. In one photo, two rifle magazines were found inside the car, and in a second capturing the passenger seat, showed brass knuckles.

Another photo showed the rifle scope on the sidewalk near where Terrazas’ vehicle was parked. Additional photos were shown of roughly 15 yellow markings that display where casings were found.

Other state exhibits show the markings of the two police units--units that belonged to Officer Benavides and Officer Cabello--that were sprayed with bullets.

The next photo showed Officer Cabello’s unit from the front which sustained eight shots. Then, the state zoomed into one of the photos that showed the windshield showing the bullet marks.

After more exhibits of the crime scene detailing where casings and bullet marks were found, a drone video showed Terrazas’ car with the doors open, the house where he parked, and the cones that had the casings of the AR-15 rifle.

According to the witness, the blood stains on the street which was of Jorge Martinez.

After collecting evidence, an AR-15 was recovered by Investigator Luis Martinez. Witnesses say Terrazas had bite marks which was corroborated by Debra who bit him as a way to get him to release the weapon.

Additional photos displayed the sling of the rifle and a magazine on the street.

Another photo shows a round that did not dispense correctly and got stuck in the chamber of the rifle.

The next photo is the same round that was found in the camber.

The witness confronted Terrazas and said that he wasn’t being honest.

Terrazas told him, he reloaded three to four times during the shooting.

The witness asked Terrazas if he wanted a firefight with officers to which Terrazas replied that he did.

According to the witness Officer Cabello got shot and was taken to Doctors Hospital for treatment.

When speaking to Terrazas’ he told him that honest was the best policy and that it was in his best interest to be upfront about what had happened.

The witness stated that Terrazas never said why he stopped shooting.

Audio recordings of caller screaming, “He’s shooting everywhere!” were played in the courtroom.

The dispatcher told the caller that they have officers at the location and to stay in the bedroom and away from the entrance.

The caller stated, “He’s breaking the window, he just broke into the house!”

The dispatcher attempts to speak to the victim and hears a loud commotion on the line.

The recordings of the 911 dispatcher are continuing to be played in court.

The dispatcher asked the caller if the gunman is inside the home, but there is no response.

The dispatcher continues to ask but does not receive a response.

Laredo Police Investigator Carmona, who was on the stand, stated that three people were shot. Elizabeth Perez got shot twice, Officers Cabello and Martinez got shot too.

Martinez got shot while getting out of the house by friendly fire, after that, another officer discharged his weapon, according to Carmona.

Security camera from the door of a nearby residence was played in court.

Video shows a patrol car pass by on the side of the video and then out of frame, gunshots are heard.

Shots can be heard throughout the course of the video as it plays.

The flicker of the blue and red headlights are seen cast on the walls next to the entrance of the home, all patrol cars and people are out of frame which ran for about five to seven minutes.

At one point, a witness stated that there was a belief among officers that there were two shooters present.

When officer Martinez came out, authorities were confused about how he was able to get out of his clothes so fast.

Officers initially thought he was one of the shooters which is the reason authorities believe Martinez was shot.

The state passed the witness and it was time for the defense to question Investigator Carmona.

The defense spoke about Carmona’s career history and his time in law enforcement.

They spoke about his time as a patrol sergeant and how he was employed with the Laredo Police Department for a total of 22 years.

The defense asked Carmona if he had ever dealt with people who were intoxicated to which he confirmed.

The defense spoke about the CAPERS Unit and asks if it was fair to say that he wasn’t essentially on duty.

Carmona stated that it was correct, and he was assigned as the lead investigator of the case while at home.

The incident occurred between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

The defense stated that Terrazas had been drinking a large part the day before and Investigator said that he had documented that in his notes.

Investigator Carmona said that at one point, Terrazas told him he fell asleep in the car but it is fair to assume, he had been up all day and drinking the day before.

The defense asked Carmona that when dealing with intoxicated people, they don’t act logically or rational to which Carmona agreed.

The defense asked Carmona if Terrazas was still intoxicated, to which Carmona said it was a possibility.

The defense pointed out that Terrazas was not belligerent, argumentative or non-compliant and was respectful and Carmona verified those claims.

The defense attorney went on to reiterate that Carmona has experience of interviewing hundreds of people as well as difficult people.

The defense asked about what generally happened that night.

Terrazas told Carmona about the shooting and how he got out of the car and shot in the air.

According to the defense attorney, Terrazas saw the police get out of the units and started shooting at the units.

Defense attorneys point out that Terrazas never said or was asked exactly how many times he shot at the unit; however, the evidence showed a fair amount of shots were found on the unit.

The defense stated that a good amount of bullets didn’t hit anything in particular but Investigator Carmona said that is hard to tell.

The defense stated that these were random shots to which Carmona agreed.

The defense put up one of the many yellow markers on the side of the street.

The defense asked if Investigator Carmona was ever trained to handle an AR-15 and asked about how to eject the cartridges.

Carmona agreed that he has been trained to handle an AR-15.

The defense attorney established the positioning of the shooter in the courtroom.

The next piece of evidence, which was the scope of the weapon was displayed in court.

Another photo was displayed in court showing the markers of Officer Cabello’s casings when he shot back at Terrazas.

Drone video is played in the courtroom showing Terraza’s vehicle as well as the positioning of where the shooter would be.

Officer Benavides was essentially getting out of his unit when Terrazas started to fire shots in his direction.

Investigator Carmona stated that Officer Cabello went through the same thing after shots were aimed at the unit.

Investigator Carmona then went into how Officer Benavides had his backed towards Terrazas.

Audio of the surveillance video was then played which featured different sounds.

The defense attorney pointed out that there are two different weapons being fired.

After the discussion of the sounds of the gunfire, the defense brought up the text messages from Debra’s phone.

The defense stated that the messages from Terrazas at the beginning of the exchange are just to talk and not in a belligerent way.

The defense attorney read a few messages out loud and stated that the conversation starts to deteriorate.

Defense attorney reads a few out loud and says that eventually the conversation ‘deteriorates’. Inv. Carmona agrees.

The defense read the text where Terrazas stated “You call the cops, I’m ready to die.’

The defense asked if that is consistent with the line of thinking that someone isn’t acting very rational; however, Carmona said that he would not be able to answer that.

The defense attorney tries to have Inv. Carmona say that the texts are illogical, but the state objects for speculation and Judge Lopez sustains.

Defense went into figurative language saying that sometimes people say things they don’t necessarily mean or take literally such as a mother scolding at a child, “If you do that again, I’m going to kill you.”

Investigator Carmona reiterated that he would not be able to distinguish what Terrazas had sent via text.

The interview with Terrazas is brought up by the defense where Investigator Carmona asked Terrazas, “Did you want to die today” and Terrazas said yes.

The defense brought up the phenomenon, “Suicide by Cop.”

Investigator Carmona stated that someone who wants to die by suicide by cop would not fire 80 times at an officer during an unfair fight.

Carmona went into detail about how the exchange was unfair.

Carmona stated that if it was a true suicide by cop, an individual could have an empty gun and an officer would respond accordingly, but the defense said that is only one scenario, there could be others to which Investigator Carmona agreed.

The defense reiterated that Terrazas never denied the fact that he shot at the police or the house.

The state then brought out the yellow markers and pointed out the casings on the hood of the police car. The state asked Investigator Carmona if Terrazas was slurring his words but he said Terrazas was coherent.

Carmona is let go and Sergeant Roque Perez takes the stand.

LAREDO, TX (KGNS) - Laredo Police arrest two parents after a three-year-old is found walking alone barefoot near a busy street.

Leonel Cerda, 50, and Dailyn Paz, 26 are charged with abandoning and endangering a child.

According to police, the arrest happened after the toddler was found unattended near the 3100 block of Potomac Loop.

Authorities say a passerby spotted the child walking around and notified police.

According to reports, the child told the Good Samaritan they were hungry.

The parents were allegedly found asleep inside a home with the door open.

Police say Child Protective Services was notified about the incident and the child was turned over to the state agency.