EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The state and defense rested their case in the trial of the Martel brothers on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Chris and Randy Martel are accused of shooting and killing 27-year-old Julio Minjares on Dec. 12, 2020, in front of the house of Minjares’ ex-girlfriend and mother of the victim’s child.
Both of the brothers have been on trial since Monday, Nov. 6 for Minjares’ murder.
Defense team claimed in their closing arguments to the jury that the state prosecutors did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was enough evidence to show the actions of Martel’s were not in self-defense.
The defense attorneys said Minjares was a gang member and a dangerous person referring to previous incidents stated in Minjares’s ex-girlfriend’s testimony.
Minjares and Armida Trujillo shared a son who was eight at the time of the incident.
Trujillo previously testified that Minjares had broken into her home on several occasions, mentioning one time when he got into her bed to “smell her.”
The defense said Minjares showed obsessive behavior prior to the incident and on the day of the incident, he showed up to Trujillo’s residence three times uninvited, while Trujillo was hosting a gathering where the Martel brothers were at.
“I shot out of fear,” was one of the quotes projected on the wall during the defense’s closing arguments referring to Chris Martel’s testimony during an interview with El Paso Police detectives two months after the shooting.
The defense claimed there is substantial proof that shows the Martel brothers were acting out of self-defense by taking into consideration their injuries and the amount of their blood across the crime scene.
Joe Spencer, one of Martel’s defense attorneys, said the Martel brothers ran towards danger to protect others from Minjares and his “thugs” who came armed with machetes and a gun.
Spencer also pointed out that the Martel brothers and their family received threats from Minjares’s family after the incident, as well as Trujillo who had to get the FBI involved and was put under surveillance.
The state began their closing arguments by explaining why the brothers’ actions are not considered self-defense according to the word’s definition.
The state prosecutor said there needs to be an immediate threat where a person is using or threatening to use deadly force upon another individual.
He explained that even though Minjares’ “thugs” did have deadly weapons, they were disarmed by Chris Martel and ran away, leaving only Minjares at the scene.
Referring to the surveillance footage, the state prosecutor said Minjares was unarmed when the video shows Chris Martel “shanking” Minjares.
The prosecutor continued by describing the moment of the fatal shooting when Chris Martel reached to a lock box in his truck to get his gun.
The state claims that during that time, Randy Martel was keeping Minjares away from Chris as he was grabbing his weapon.
Citing the definition, the state prosecutor said this constitutes Randy Martel as a party in the murder, even though he did not fire the fatal shots.
After Chris Martel reached for his gun, state prosecutor described he had fired two shots to Minjares’ head to “make sure that the job was done.”
The state also claimed that when Chris Martel is heard shouting “Randy don’t shoot” in the surveillance footage, Randy ended up firing his weapon into Minjares’ hand.
“There is no vigilante justice,” the state prosecutor said and explained how he was not there to defend who Minjares was as a person, but to defend the rule of law which defines what constitutes as murder.
The jury has been deliberating since about 12:00 p.m. KTSM will bring you updates once the jury reaches a verdict.
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