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EDINBURG — The second day of the murder trial involving an Alamo man accused of shooting and killing a Donna teen in 2020 continued Tuesday morning with attorneys arguing outside the presence of the jury about whether testimony from a former investigator should be allowed.

Investigator Lorena Phelan was the sixth and final witness called to testify Monday afternoon. She had worked with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the murder and was called to assist with the investigation.

She recalled visiting the home of Miranda Luna, who was 15 at the time, on Jan. 15, 2020 — the day after 19-year-old Genaro Isaiah “Izzy” Castillo’s body was found in a sugar cane field in the Delta Lakes area.

That was the same day authorities arrested Carlos Julian Contreras, 23, who has pleaded not guilty to murder.

She told the court that she and another investigator visited with Luna’s parents before going to the station to conduct an interview.

Phelan said that she was not in the interrogation room, but was called to escort Luna to the restroom. It was during this time that she said that Luna’s demeanor began to change. She described Luna as beginning to shake and cry.

Attorneys representing Contreras argued that Phelan’s testimony regarding what Luna told her was hearsay.

On Tuesday morning, state District Judge Nereida Lopez-Singleterry heard arguments from both sides before deciding that Phelan would be allowed to continue her testimony based only on her own responses to Luna and not to what Luna told her.

Phelan recalled telling Luna that she needed to tell the truth. After returning Luna to the interrogation room, Phelan was called into the room at Luna’s request. She described Luna’s demeanor as distraught.

Later Tuesday morning, the state called Jacob Villalon Jr. to the stand. Villalon, 25, told the court that he was a mutual friend of both Contreras and Castillo.

He said that he met Contreras in July 2019 through what he described as “ranch parties.” He explained that these parties were gatherings where alcohol and drugs were consumed. It was at these ranch parties where he also met Castillo.

Villalon said that Contreras was known to smuggle individuals in the country illegally. He said that he and some friends had been asked to work for Contreras, but they declined.

He told the court that he’d heard from a friend named “Anthony” that Castillo and an individual named “Reggie” were planning to rob Contreras. He said that he sent a message to Contreras through Snapchat telling him what he’d heard.

Villalon told the court that Contreras asked multiple times if it was true. He said that Contreras called him a few days later and asked for help finding a gun, and he agreed. However, when he contacted the suspect to tell him that he found a gun, he was told by Contreras that he’d already found one.

When questioned by the defense, he said that he did not own any guns, but he knew how to get one. He added that he was never told of Contreras’ intention in seeking the gun.

According to his testimony, Contreras called Villalon early in the morning after the murder took place asking for help pulling his truck out of the mud at Donna Lakes. He said that he did not go because he felt like something was off.

Later, he learned about Castillo’s death via Facebook. He said that he immediately suspected Contreras was the culprit. He recalled contacting law enforcement and cooperating with their investigation.

Prosecutors also called Eduardo Aleman to testify. Aleman is a crime scene specialist for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.

He recalled arriving at the crime scene at around 6:40 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2020. He remembered meeting with investigators on scene and conducting a walk-through before beginning to document the scene with photos and video.

A video was shown to the court in which Castillo’s body could be seen lying facedown on the caliche road near the sugar cane field. A pool of blood had formed around the victim’s head. He was seen wearing a black shirt, black pants with red stripes, white shoes, and a maroon-colored Donna Redskins backpack.

Aleman said that the backpack was searched in order to help identify the body. Inside the backpack, a high school schedule was found with the name “Genaro Isaiah Castillo.” The video also showed casings around Castillo’s body.

Photos taken after the video showed some divots in the ground surrounding the body. Those divots were found to have spent rounds. There were also photos showing acceleration marks on the road near the body, which Aleman said showed that someone had driven away in a hurry.

The following day, Aleman recalled conducting a search of a 2019 Ford F-150 at the sheriff’s office after a search warrant was obtained. The truck had dried mud inside and out. Live rounds were found inside of the vehicle. A brown paper towel with red stains was also found inside the truck which was submitted for testing. Three bullet casings were also found in the bed of the truck.

Aleman was then called to a residence in Alamo where he was asked to take photographs. The photos shown in court showed a bedroom believed to belong to Contreras. He was asked to photograph items found inside the room including a baseball shirt with Contreras’s name on the back and a handwritten letter allegedly signed by the suspect.

“If you find this note, then I guess I ended up disappearing and am not answering my phone or anything,” Aleman read from the note.

Numerous weapons were found on the property, including three pistols and ammunition. Aleman said that some of the loose rounds found on the property matched those found at the scene of the crime.

When cross examined by the defense, there were further questions about the exact type of ammunition found at the crime scene and at Contreras’s residence. Attorney O. Rene Flores argued that while the rounds were the same caliber and brand, they differed as one was hollowpoint and the other was full metal jacket.

He also questioned the urgency by investigators while documenting the crime scenes. He showed photos taken by Aleman showing investigators smiling and sitting on a sofa inside the suspect’s home, with one giving a thumbs up. Flores described the photos as “trophy pics”.

The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday morning.

The post Testimony: Alamo man sought gun prior to murder of Donna teen appeared first on MyRGV.com.