BELL COUNTY, Texas — Witnesses who were either far or near the shooting incident involving Michael Dean and Carmen DeCruz were reveled in court on day four of the trial, Thursday, Jan. 26.
DeCruz is accused of killing Michael Dean during a traffic stop in 2019.
Here is a recap of the witnesses and what they took to the stand on day four (this list is in no particular order).
Witness #1
A Temple patrol officer who arrived at the scene and examined the location of the incident Dec 2, 2019.
Witness #2
Joseph Dimento, patrol sergeant for Temple PD, peer counselor for department.
When Dimento arrived on the scene, there were about 10 officers on the scene. He described the scene as "hectic and full of confusion."
Once Dimento analyzed the situation, he confiscated DeCruz's gun, unloaded the magazine, and bagged the gun and ammunition for evidence.
This is not a normal tactic, according to Dimento because it insinuates that the police officer did something wrong. They saw DeCruz's demeanor and were worried DeCruz would commit suicide.
Dimento, DeCruz, and the lead detective on the scene then went to the Temple Police Department. Before arriving at the police department, Dimento told the courtroom the lead detective stopped by a nearby gas station to get gas and a drink. Dimento said in a situation like what transpired, going to the gas station wasn't the best idea.
Witness #3
A woman who took video of the incident at a near-by gas station.
The woman was at the CEFCO getting drinks with her daughter when she noticed a TPD patrol car chasing a small car at high speed. Right after noticing, she says that's when she began recording on her phone.
In the recording, the commands "get out" and "give me the keys" can be heard. She couldn't directly pinpoint who was hollering but she did say she only heard one voice.
Not long after, a loud pop can be heard. This is allegedly the gun shot that struck Dean in the head. Less than 10 minutes later, patrol cars can be seen arriving at the scene of the shooting.
Witness #4
A man who was driving behind DeCruz's patrol car.
He was at a red light when he saw the TPD patrol car with a car in front of it. Not long after, he began recording.
The video does not show much of the incident.
Witness #5
A man who ran to the the scene from Tractor Supply.
He saw a TPD patrol car behind a car with police sirens on. He first walked to the vehicles involved, but when he heard loud commands coming from DeCruz, he began running to the scene.
As he was running, he says he heard a single gun shot. When he got to the scene, he says DeCruz ran back to his patrol car and saw him get a first aid kit. He also saw Dean's body laying on the ground. He then said DeCruz began wrapping Dean's head with a first aid wrap.
He also took a photo of the scene. He then says he consoled DeCruz and heard DeCruz say "My career is over", "My life is over",. He also claims to have seen DeCruz hit a large metal box on the side of the road. This witness took his statement to TPD an hour after the incident.
Temple Police Cellphone Forensics Officer Tom Wolf was in charge of taking witness statements that night.
On the stand, it was revealed that Wolf did not properly document every detail witness #5 shared. The witness also didn't share everything he heard or saw the night of the shooting.
As of right now, both the defense and state attorneys brought up that the detective who took the statements of witnesses did not properly document every thing witnesses said accurately. This is something they plan to continue to explore as the trial continues.
Day five continues on Jan. 27. 6 News will provide more details as they become available.