Jurors to deliberate for 3rd day in trial of Herrera
Jury to listen to recordings of 2 witnesses in case of man accused of killing 5 people
Jurors in the murder trial for an Ojo Caliente man accused of killing five people in a 2017 shooting spree that crossed county lines struggled to reach a verdict Thursday, their second day of deliberations.
After listening to over two weeks of testimony, viewing about 500 pieces of evidence and deliberating for more than 12 hours over two days, jurors in the trial for 25-year-old Damian Herrera asked a judge late Thursday to be allowed to listen to audio recordings of two witnesses again.
State District Judge Jason Lidyard granted the request. He ordered the prosecution and defense to reconvene in his Santa Fe courtroom early Friday, when jurors will listen again to testimony from Herrera’s sister and a
neighbor. Prosecutors said the two had witnessed part of what they have called Herrera’s “violent rampage” in Rio Arriba and Taos Counties.
The jury will hear the recording in the presence of Herrera and his attorneys.
Prosecutors say Herrera killed his mother, Maria “Brenda” Rosita Gallegos, 49; brother Brendon Herrera, 20; and stepfather, Max Trujillo Sr., 55, following an argument at the family’s home in La Madera on June 15, 2017.
Herrera also is accused of killing 61-year-old Michael Kyte and stealing his vehicle later that day in Taos County. Prosecutors said Herrera ran out of gas in Tres Piedras, and Kyte gave him a ride.
Later that evening, prosecutors said, Herrera shot a pistol from a car window, killing 59-year-old Manuel Serrano outside Bode’s General Store in Abiquiú. Herrera was arrested about 10 minutes later after crashing Kyte’s vehicle, also in Abiquiú.
Herrera faces counts of first-degree murder and other charges in connection with four of the shootings, including evading arrest and receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle.
He will be tried separately on a first-degree murder charge in Taos County, but a court date has not been set for that case.
Jurors in the Santa Fe trial initially requested a transcript of the testimony Thursday, but Lidyard said a written transcript was not yet ready and likely couldn’t be produced by Friday morning. He offered jurors the option of rehearing recordings of the testimony instead.
Earlier Thursday, the jurors asked for clarification on the differences between an impulsive killing and a deliberate killing. Lidyard, prosecutors and defense attorneys, however, agreed not to provide additional information to them, and the jurors were directed to rely on instructions they’d already received.
Herrera was found incompetent to stand trial shortly after the shooting, when two of his sisters said he had told them he heard voices. He was sent to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas for treatment, and experts deemed him competent to stand trial in January 2020.