EDINBURG — Jurors in the murder trial of 37-year-old Gabino Salinas on Wednesday were shown photos of the bloody crime scene and surveillance video that captured footage of someone being dragged by a vehicle.
This evidence was revealed on the third day of testimony in Salinas’ trial, who is accused of kidnapping 32-year-old Jose Angel Martinez and then dragging him through an orchard behind a white Jeep Grand Cherokee before cutting his throat and killing him on Nov. 8, 2017.
Salinas is charged with capital murder, possession of marijuana, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated kidnapping.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Edinburg resident and police dispatcher Luis Serna took the stand and testified to video footage from his parent’s home that captured someone being dragged by a white Jeep.
Prosecutors say that person is Martinez.
Investigator Miguel Lopez also testified on Wednesday and revealed how law enforcement managed to arrest Salinas and co-defendant Benjamin Chavez Sanchez, 25, on Nov. 9.
Lopez said authorities pinged Salinas’ phone and conducted a traffic stop on the white Jeep in Edinburg on Monte Cristo Road where they found cocaine, a little more than 4 pounds of marijuana, a handgun underneath the passenger seat and multiple live rounds of ammunition.
Sandra Rangel, who was a crime scene investigator with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the alleged murder, testified to taking photos of multiple scenes including the bloody home where Martinez and his roommate, Ricardo Moreno, were allegedly kidnapped from.
The jury also saw graphic photos Rangel took of Martinez’s makeshift grave. Jurors also saw photos of his dismembered body and the machete used to cut the man’s body.
Prosecutors believe Salinas was the mastermind behind the killing which was prompted by an assault in which he lost a leg.
In addition to Sanchez, Sandy Lutz, 32, and Hector Ruben Guerra, 48, are also facing charges of capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated kidnapping.
They have pleaded not guilty.
Testimony will resume Thursday afternoon.
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