EDINBURG — The fate of a 31-year-old Mission resident accused in a 2016 quadruple shooting at the Palmview H-E-B is now in the hands of the jury.
Closing arguments finished late Monday morning in the trial of Raul Lopez, who is charged with murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a count of attempted capital murder of multiple persons.
The jury was sent home Monday afternoon and are scheduled to continue deliberating Tuesday morning.
Lopez has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is pursuing an insanity defense.
He has been in custody since Nov. 28, 2016, after firing 19 shots into a breakroom at the grocery store on Goodwin Road and U.S. Expressway 83, where overnight workers were eating lunch, at around 3:30 a.m.
He is accused of killing 48-year-old Mario Pulido, who was shot nine times, and injuring Billy Joe Martinez, then 33, Rafael Martinez, then 37, and Frailan Garza, then 51.
His defense is not contesting that he is the shooter, but has instead presented evidence and witnesses indicating that Lopez suffered from schizophrenia and did not know what he was doing that night was wrong.
Jurors have also heard about his paranoia, his tough childhood beset by trauma and concerns from family members that the man’s symptoms had increased in the year prior to the shooting.
Prosecutors, however, have presented evidence indicating they believe he is faking his diagnosis, and jurors have heard from four medical experts with varying opinions throughout the two-week trial.
During closings, prosecutor Maggie Hinojosa told jurors that not only did Lopez fake a mental illness, he knew what he was doing was wrong.
She pointed out how he called 9-1-1 on himself and tossed the 9mm Desert Eagle handgun used in the shooting in an empty lot.
Hinojosa also said Lopez wasn’t concerned about his co-workers during his interrogation, but instead was more concerned with any potential consequences he might face.
Lopez’s attorney, O. Rene Flores, reminded jurors that two experts believed Lopez suffered from schizophrenia and that a court-appointed psychiatrist determined he did not know what he was doing was wrong.
He also reminded jurors that another psychiatrist who diagnosed him with a panic disorder never determined whether he was faking symptoms or whether he had an unspecified psychosis.
The attorney also attacked the testimony of a psychiatrist from San Antonio who testified that Lopez did not suffer from schizophrenia, telling jurors the doctor only met with Lopez for a few hours over Zoom and not in person and that he did not interview any family members and instead just relied on reports from two other doctors.
Both those doctors diagnosed Lopez with schizophrenia.
A motive for the shooting has also been lacking during the trial.
Thus far, the only evidence that could be a motive for the shooting is a confrontation over a dropped pickle jar and Lopez’s continued write-ups that pushed him to the verge of termination at H-E-B.
Monitor staff writer Mark Reagan contributed to this report.
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