Saturday, February 7, 2015

TEXAS MAN FOUND GUILTY IN TRAFFIC DEATH OF STATE TROOPER, WHEN HE ADMITTED RUNNING A RED TRAFFIC LIGHT AND KILLING THE TROOPER



TEXAS MAN FOUND GUILTY IN TRAFFIC DEATH OF STATE TROOPER, WHEN HE ADMITTED RUNNING A RED TRAFFIC LIGHT AND KILLING THE TROOPER




February 7, 2015




— A West Texas man has been found guilty of manslaughter for his role in a 2012 traffic collision that killed a state trooper.




Twenty-one-year-old Edgardo Flores of El Paso is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in the death of trooper Javier Arana Jr.




The jury Friday acquitted Flores of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.



Prosecutors say Flores drove through a red light in March 2012 and his pickup collided with Arana's patrol car. The trooper died at the scene.




Prosecutors acknowledged during closing arguments that Arana contributed to the accident by also running a red light while on his way to a call.




But they argued Flores admitted to investigators that he drove through the light and was a reason the collision occurred.







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Opening arguments and evidence presented in Texas state trooper-death case



Edgardo Flores is facing two charges in connection to 2012 death












Edgardo Flores, (center) listens to a witness give testimony at his trial in 41st District Court where he is accused of causing an accident in which state Trooper Javier Arana Jr. was killed. (RUBEN R RAMIREZ—EL PASO TIMES)




Opening arguments in the trial for a 21-year-old man accused of killing a Texas state trooper in a 2012 car wreck were held Tuesday, and a recording taken shortly after the crash was introduced as evidence. 




Edgardo Flores is on trial on manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges in the death of Trooper Javier Arana Jr. in a collision on March 24, 2012.




Prosecutors argued that Flores acted "recklessly" by knowingly driving through a red light causing the accident.



Flores defense lawyers said traffic lights at the intersection may have confused Flores and that Arana may have run a red light.




"Two bad decisions completely unrelated, ended up changing worlds forever," prosecutor Denise Butterworth told a jury in the 41st District Court of Judge Annabell Perez. 




On the day of the crash, Arana, 32, was responding to a call at about 1:30 a.m. on Darrington Road when his patrol car collided with a Ford Ranger at Joe Battle Boulevard and Bob Hope Drive. 




The patrol car struck Flores' truck, causing it to spin into the side of the patrol car, a DPS report said.




The patrol car spun and hit a light pole, continued spinning before it came to rest and then caught fire.




Butterworth told the jury that Flores had previously admitted that he was "positive it (the traffic light) was red" when he crossed the intersection. 




Butterworth presented a recorded interview between Flores and Texas Ranger Kevin Wright, who was called to testify. 




The interview, which took about 24 minutes, was conducted at Del Sol Medical Center, a few hours after the accident. Flores is heard telling Wright that he tried to beat the red light. 




"You knew in your mind that the light was red?" Wright asked Flores during the interview.




"Yes," Flores replied. 




"I passed the red light...I was trying to beat it," he is heard telling Wright in another part of the interview.




Defense attorney Ray Velarde argued that when Wright interviewed Flores, his client was "disoriented as to circumstance."




Velarde argued that some of Flores responses and non-verbal cues such as moaning and "I'm not sure" or, "I think" during the interview should have made it clear to Wright that Flores was not in a coherent state. 




Flores' defense also argued that the intersection at Joe Battle and Bob Hope had two lights and different sequences. Under a dark night, such as the one of the accident, Flores could have easily been confused, Velarde said. 




Flores' defense team also argued that Arana did not die as a result of the collision, but due to smoke inhalation from the fire that engulfed the patrol car shortly after the accident. 




"There's a lot of reasonable doubt to cloud the charges that have been brought against Mr. Flores," Velarde said.




Testimony in the trial continues today at 8:30 a.m.



Flores was 18 years old at the time of the crash. Jail records show Flores was arrested on January 2013 after a grand jury indicted him in connection with Arana's death. Flores is free on bond.




If convicted of manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Flores faces two to 20 years in prison.




According to the Texas Penal Code, if prosecutors prove Arana was a public servant acting in his official duty when he was killed, Flores faces five to 99 years or life in prison if convicted on the assault charge.