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By Xavier Alvarez and Francisco E. Jimenez | STAFF WRITERS
A Border Patrol agent testified Thursday morning about the damage done to his property during a shootout with the suspect in the case of the shooting and death of 49-year-old Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Moises Sanchez.
Victor Alejandro Godinez, 28, is charged with capital murder of a peace officer and two counts of attempted capital murder of a peace officer for the April 6, 2019 shooting of Sanchez, who died in Houston several months later following a surgery.
Prosecutors presented jurors with pictures of the extensive damage done to Edinburg resident Santos Yzaguirre’s home and vehicles as a result of the second shootout the same night Sanchez was shot.
In addition, surveillance footage presented showed a man running through the empty lot on the east side of Yzaguirre’s residence at 12:40 a.m. that early Sunday morning.
Ten minutes later, a group of officers arrived in the area.
Edinburg police Sgt. Sandra Tapia shed some light on the events that occurred prior to the shooting.
“It was chaos,” Tapia told the court during her testimony.
Tapia testified that she was off-duty and in Mission with family when she received an administrative text stating that Sanchez was down. She called her supervisor who asked her to gather a group of investigators and head to the area to help other law enforcement agencies already at the scene.
She, along with her group, were initially tasked with evacuating the Cordon’s Taste of Chicago restaurant, which, according to Tapia, was “full.”
Tapia stated there were several families there as well as children playing in the back area of Cordon’s where there are basketball and volleyball courts.
According to her, it took several hours to completely evacuate the restaurant, but once she had completed her task, she hopped in an unmarked police vehicle, namely a Toyota Sequoia, with fellow officer Jessie Moreno.
Upon entering the subdivision that had been locked down for the manhunt, Tapia and Moreno were approached by two men who advised them of a suspicious man walking barefoot through the neighborhood.
The two officers saw the man walking down Ida Street and parked their car to approach him.
Tapia testified that she called out to him twice, identifying herself as an Edinburg police officer and asking him to stop.
She believed him to be intoxicated as he seemed to be stumbling and walking slowly. Because of this, Tapia didn’t think he was the suspect law enforcement were hunting, but she quickly realized she was wrong.
Tapia said that after the second time she called out to him, he abruptly stopped and swung his body toward them, firing his weapon.
“I feared for my life and threw myself on the ground,” Tapia said. “He wanted to kill me.”
By the time she hit the ground, she had heard only two gunshots. Tapia landed on her right elbow, cutting it open, and while on the ground she covered her head with her left arm.
When asked why she covered her head, Tapia recalled what had happened earlier that evening.
“I was afraid I was going to get hit in the head just as Trooper Moises Sanchez had,” Tapia said.
As she picked up her head, she could only see Godinez’s barefoot running toward the end of the cul de sac. Tapia took the opportunity to take cover behind a white Ford pickup to her right side.
She added that she never had a clear shot at Godinez and didn’t want to shoot toward the houses in fear of hitting a resident.
Godinez took cover behind Yzaguirre’s silver Nissan Altima before heading toward the empty lot next door and jumping the fence where he was apprehended.
Tapia said she heard someone say over her radio that they had caught Godinez minutes later.
“Everything happened so quickly,” Tapia said.
She explained that she and Moreno didn’t chase after Godinez either as it was dark and they believed him to have the advantage as he’d be able to see them due to a street light at the entrance of the empty lot.
On Wednesday afternoon, Moreno, a criminal investigator with Edinburg police, gave emotional testimony as he recalled the details of the night he came face to face with the alleged suspect and the ensuing shootout.
He described how he pulled the Sequoia over to the side of the road and how he called out to Godinez.
“Sir! Stop! Edinburg Police! I need to talk to you,” he said.
Then Godinez shot and Moreno retreated behind the vehicle and returned fire, expendingall 17 rounds in his Glock 17 9mm semi-automatic weapon.
“Initially, you have shock. Then you experience fear,” Moreno said, describing how he felt when the suspect opened fire.
He then became emotional as he recounted not knowing where Tapia was or her condition.
“I didn’t know if she was dead or alive,” he said, wiping away tears.
The trial is in its fourth day of testimony.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Santos Yzaguirre’s last name.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Witness describes second shooting in Edinburg man’s trial over trooper’s killing
‘Hold on, Sanchez’: Body cam footage shows life-saving attempts for trooper
Sister of off-duty cop recalls frantic Edinburg scene where DPS trooper was shot
