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
EL PASO, Texas — 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.
//_______________________________________________//
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.