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EDINBURG — Defense attorneys on Friday began calling witnesses on behalf of Victor Alejandro Godinez, now convicted in the capital murder of state trooper Moises Sanchez, after the state rested its part of the punishment phase of the trial.
Godinez, who turned 29 on Friday, was found guilty in Sanchez’s death as well as two counts of attempted capital murder.
“We’ll start to hear a little bit more about the man, as opposed to the myth,” O. Rene Flores said about his client as he addressed the court just before calling his first witness.
Flores called Claudia Escobedo, a custodian of medical records for South Texas Health System, to testify about Godinez’s toxicology report following his arrest on the morning of April 7, 2019.
Reading from the toxicology report, she said that Godinez tested negative for any drugs, but his blood alcohol level was .14.
Defense attorneys then called Adrian Gonzalez to the stand. He, along with his brother Joseph, spent the day with Godinez on April 6, 2019 prior to Sanchez’s shooting.
He recalled Godinez calling him at 11 a.m. that morning and asking him if he wanted to drink. He said that Godinez had been working at a refinery in Baytown at the time and would come home every two weeks.
Gonzalez said that Godinez arrived with a six-pack of Budweiser beer, which they shared and finished before driving to a store and buying a 12-pack of Budweiser.
He recalled his brother, Joseph, showing up at his apartment later that afternoon and driving him and Godinez to a store to buy another 12-pack of Budweiser.
Joseph was also called to testify. He described Godinez as his best friend, more like a brother. He described Godinez as not being much of a drinker and preferring to smoke marijuana. He said that Godinez stopped using drugs when he started working at the refinery.
When he arrived at his brother’s apartment, he described Godinez as being “a little bit tipsy,” and said that he knew he and Adrian had been drinking since the morning.
Joseph said that he had a beer and started smoking marijuana when he arrived. He said that the occasion was somewhat celebratory since Godinez has just landed a new job. It was for that reason he said that Godinez did not partake in smoking marijuana.
He said that he drove Godinez and Adrian to a store to buy more beer, and they continued drinking at Adrian’s apartment. After a while, he recalled Godinez saying that he wanted to smoke like he and his friends used to.
Adrian testified that Godinez wanted to go to a store called “The Gathering” in McAllen and buy some CBD, which does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) but still helps the user relax.
“We tried to stop him because we knew that he was too drunk to drive,” Adrian said. He said that they told Godinez to stay and relax, and recalled that Godinez could barely stand.
Both brothers testified that they pleaded with Godinez to stay, but said they could not stop him.
“I told him no, just chill,” Joseph recalled. He said that Godinez hit his car with the door to his truck before leaving. “Once he did take off, he did floor it. He flew down that street.”
Moments later, Godinez was involved in a car crash with another truck and fled the scene. It was then that Godinez shot Sanchez, igniting a massive manhunt that ended with his involvement in a shootout with two Edinburg police officers and his eventual arrest.
Defense attorneys also called upon Godinez’s former stepfather, James Jackson, who began dating Godinez’s mother when he was 7-years-old. The two separated and divorced prior to the April 6 shooting.
Attorneys showed pictures of the family from vacations and family gatherings, depicting a younger Godinez.
Jackson, who referred to Godinez as Alex, recalled him having a drinking problem and becoming loud, obnoxious, and unwilling to listen to authority when he was young. He recalled his and his ex-wife’s decision to send Godinez to boot camp in order to help his behavior.
He said that he did notice a positive change in Godinez upon his completion of the program. He recalled conversations with his former stepson in which he indicated that he wanted to have a family and a nice house. He also recalled Godinez applying for the Border Patrol, the Marines, and to a police academy, all of whom turned him down.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Jurors hear about Edinburg man’s jail behavior in death penalty trial
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