EDINBURG — Prosecutors on Tuesday portrayed a 31-year-old Mission man accused of shooting four people at a Palmview H-E-B in 2016 as manipulative and only concerned about the consequences of his arrest, while defense attorneys told the jury he instead suffered from mental illness and did not know what he was doing that day because he was insane.
The opening statements set the stage for the trial of Raul Lopez, with prosecutor Maggie Hinojosa calling the Nov. 28, 2016, incident a “mass shooting” and defense attorney O.Rene Flores asking jurors to keep an open mind as they heard evidence from witnesses in what the lawyer said would be a “battle of the experts.”
Lopez is accused of killing 48-year-old Mario Pulido and injuring Rafael Ramirez-Martinez, then 37, Frailan Garza, then 51, and Billy Joe Martinez, then 33.
He 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.
He has pleaded not guilty and is pursuing an insanity defense.
During openings, Hinojosa told jurors how Nov. 28, 2016, was a normal day on the weekend following Thanksgiving.
She said Lopez and his co-workers showed up to the H-E-B at Goodwin Road and U.S. Expressway 83 at midnight for a shift that would last to 8 a.m. where they re-stocked the shelves.
According to Hinojosa, Lopez laughed at his co-worker Garza after some pickle jars fell, which she said Lopez thought was funny and upset Garza.
At about 3 a.m., the prosecutor said Lopez and Martinez left the H-E-B for a lunch shift with Martinez going to a Stripes for hot dogs and Lopez going to his red 2011 Chevrolet Silverado.
Thirty minutes later, Martinez, Garza, Ramirez and Pulido were all eating in the break room when all of a sudden they heard loud popping noises, according to Hinojosa.
Authorities have alleged that Lopez walked up to black-tinted windows outside of the break room and fired at least 15 shots from a 9mm Desert Eagle handgun directly into those windows at a close range.
Crime scene video shown to the jury Tuesday featured shattered windows and at least 15 evidence markers over bullet casings and a marker over an empty magazine.
Hinojosa, the prosecutor, told jurors during openings that Lopez emptied one magazine, loaded another and fired more shots, and testimony from Sandra Rangel, a crime scene investigator with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, indicated that Lopez was so close that casings were found inside the break room, some of which still contained bullet fragments.
Pulido’s back was to the window and when Lopez shot through it, he suffered nine gunshot wounds, she said.
Family members of the man, including his wife, were in the courtroom when that video was played and they cried when his lifeless body was shown.
Hinojosa said Ramirez suffered a couple gunshot wounds and was able to run and get help. Martinez was shot in his chest and thigh and tried to run, but couldn’t. Garza received a gunshot graze to his head, according to the prosecutor.
During an interview after his arrest, Hinojosa said that Lopez spoke with an investigator and claimed amnesia. He also suggested that during that interview he was only worried about the consequences. Jurors will likely see a video of that interview at some point during the trial.
The prosecutor said Flores, Lopez’s defense attorney, hired a medical professional who determined that Lopez suffered from a mental disease and did not know that what he was doing that day was wrong.
However, Hinojosa said the district attorney’s office hired its own medical professional who determined that Lopez was sane at the time because he called 9-1-1 on himself, tried to hide the weapon and made statements to investigators.
This, Flores suggested, would lead jurors to a “battle of the experts.”
According to Flores, jurors will hear evidence that Lopez suffered from a mental illness and defect, and continues to suffer.
The attorney said during opening statements that Lopez believed his family was in danger and that H-E-B, the government and aliens were conducting surveillance on him and his household.
Lopez only communicated with his family by writing on paper so “they” couldn’t hear, according to Flores, who said that this defense is not about excusing his conduct but about understanding his conduct.
In short, whether he did do it isn’t the question here, Flores said.
There were early indications in the case that Lopez may have suffered mental illness based on comments by Palmview’s former police chief, who described him as paranoid, and after Lopez told a judge at his arraignment that he had previously been found incompetent.
A total of four witnesses took the stand Tuesday, including a Palmview police officer and three officials from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.
Testimony is scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.
