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EDINBURG — A 33-year-old Nebraska man accused of intoxicated manslaughter and his defense attorney’s are attempting to suppress statements he made to police following the fatal crash where he told police that he was “faded.”
Omaha resident Tyrone Dewayne Amos, who was re-arrested for missing a hearing earlier this year, and his attorney, Chris Sully, met with prosecutors and state District Judge Fernando Mancias for a motion to suppress statements Amos made in the aftermath of the May 4, 2021 crash that killed 27-year-old Victor Bazan Jr.
Prosecutors presented the court with body cam footage of the first Edinburg police officer at the scene who spoke to Amos, which Sully asked the court to play the video in its entirety in order for Mancias to have the full context of the statements.
Officer Christopher Martinez, now a detective at the Edinburg Police Department, was brought to the stand to answer questions regarding the footage as well.
Before playing the footage, Martinez was asked what Amos said to him upon their first interaction. Martinez stated that Amos said he was “faded,” to which Mancias questioned the meaning of the word.
Prosecutors explained that “faded” is slang for “buzzed” or intoxicated.
Martinez added that he could smell alcohol on Amos and noticed he was slurring his speech and had bloodshot eyes.
The footage shown corroborated his testimony.
Martinez first approaches a group of victims of which one tells him that he had pulled Amos out of his burning vehicle and placed him by a white truck hauling a trailer.
Martinez’s safety vest obscures the footage, but one victim can be heard moaning and then Martinez is seen checking another victim when he quietly says to himself, “No pulse.”
(Courtesy Photo)
Another officer approached Martinez and he asked him, “10-7?” to which Martinez responded by saying, “I think so, man.”
Martinez finally approaches the men beside the white truck Amos was in. The men tell the officer that they placed him in the backseat of their truck, so he wouldn’t leave.
In the backseat, Amos is seen lying down when Martinez asks him if he’s OK. Amos can be heard saying, “I’m faded.”
“Fainted?” Martinez asked, but then confirmed that Amos said faded after he repeated himself.
The officer returns to check on the victim before speaking to Amos again.
Martinez asks Amos who was driving, but all he says is that he was in downtown McAllen and complains that his nose hurts.
Amos also tells Martinez that the red vehicle is his and that he was a passenger, not the driver.
Martinez then walks to Amos’ vehicle and notices that the front passenger side of the vehicle is completely crushed in.
Prosecutor Michelle Beltran then asked Martinez if he believed anyone sitting in the passenger seat of that vehicle could’ve survived the crash to which he said no.
“If anyone had been there, the injuries would be fatal,” Martinez said.
Martinez then questioned Amos for a third time, asking again who was driving his vehicle if it wasn’t him. Amos states that it was a girl and her boy or that it was a girl or maybe a boy.
The officer then asks how he got out of his vehicle and Amos responds by saying, “Man, I don’t know how I even got here.”
Mancias decided that he needs to look over paperwork before coming to a decision on the motion to suppress, but granted Amos a bond modification.
His defense called two witnesses on Amos’ behalf via Zoom. One was his employer and another was a family friend.
His employer, Shelly Smith, said that she could take care of his bond if he’s allowed to return to Omaha to work and added that he was a hard worker who even volunteered to help on his days off.
Don Johnson, the family friend, stated that Amos was attending their church regularly and had even helped him with bus tickets to either get home or return to the Rio Grande Valley to attend his hearings.
Mancias ruled that Amos will be allowed to return to Omaha, so long as he shows up to his hearings in person.
