Defense: Gabriel Moreno was just defending himself

UPDATED 5/04/18 11:30 a.m.: Court resumed in Pocatello Friday morning for the Second Degree Murder Trial of brothers Anthony and Gabriel Moreno.

The jury watched intently as the surveillance video from the juvenile detention center was shown.

The defense argued that the surveillance video shows Richardson walk over to the truck as it is backing out. At that point, the truck stops and the defense says that Richardson pulled Gabriel Moreno out of the truck. They also say that Richardson had several times he could have left but still kept coming at Gabriel.

Defense attorney Justin Olsen says Gabriel was just defending himself when he hit Richardson twice, once in the eye and once in the jaw causing him to lose consciousness and fall, hitting his head, which lead to his death.

Even though the video was enhanced, it was hard to see and certainly subject to interpretation.

The second video that will be shown today is the Snapchat video from Anthony Moreno’s cell phone.

We will continue to update you as the trial continues.

UPDATED 5/03/18 7:30 p.m.: Day three of testimony in the trial for Gabriel and Anthony Moreno started Thursday morning, with a few new details about the recorded video by Anthony Moreno of the incident, and how Richardson’s behavior that night might have been affected.

The first witness Thursday testified that her mother had heard the rumors of what happened and was friends with Anthony Moreno on snap chat. She asked her daughter to look at the Snapchat story. She said she did and another friend of hers recorded it on his personal phone, then turned that into law enforcement so they could see what really had happened.

Another witness, Dr. John Edwards, was an expert on computer science and social media. He tried to help establish a timeline for the video. While the Snapchat story shows there was video posted at 2:29 a.m. captioned “fight” on the video, and another captioned “Oh sh**” was posted at 2:30 a.m., Edwards testified that the time stamp on the video only refers to when it was posted to the social media app – it is not necessarily the time the video was recorded. A time stamp filter put on the video itself could help establish a more clear time line, but Edwards said that still isn’t necessarily an accurate time stamp. The actual snapchat video of the fight was not shown in court yet, but the discussion Thursday focused on how it was acquired and its validity.

Pictures of Richardson in the hospital after he had passed away were shown and the doctor from Ada County who did the autopsy testified of his wounds, and that the blow to the back of the head Richardson got when he hit the pavement was the cause of death. The doctor did state he couldn’t tell how many hits Richardson might have taken.

Day three also wrapped up with lengthy testimony and questioning of a pharmacologist/toxicologist. He discussed both the amount of alcohol and the amount of drugs in Richardson’s system the night he died.

Richardson’s blood alcohol level was at .199 – well above the legal limit. From the toxicology report, drugs in his system included things like cocaine, cocaethylene, and benzoylecgonine.

When asked which would have been more dominant in Richardson’s system to possibly affect his behavior, alcohol or cocaine, the doctor said his professional opinion would be the alcohol because of how much there was and he believed the effects of cocaine would have ended quickly and be nonexistent by 2:30 a.m.

If or how that affected what happened between Richardson and Gabriel Moreno the night of June 23 will be up to the jury to decide.

UPDATED 5/02/18 7:00 P.M.: Day two of testimony in the Moreno brothers trial kicked off Wednesday.

The testimony heard Wednesday was mostly from law enforcement. Two of the three officers who were on foot patrol near the Center Street Clubhouse that night testified about what they saw. The officers described hearing some sort of slamming or bang that caught their attention and made them head toward the Clubhouse. One officer, Officer Eborn, testified he saw the Moreno brothers leaving the parking lot behind the clubhouse in their silver truck and going to the parking lot across the street. Eborn said he tried to wave them down and they didn’t stop, but eventually they came to a stop in another parking lot. He described how the Moreno brothers were pulling out of the parking lot pretty fast, saying you could hear the gravel spinning out and the tires losing traction, as well as the front end of the truck lifting up like it does when you punch the gas.

Eborn also described seeing an unconscious male on the pavement, who would later be identified as Richardson. Richardson was lying on his left side with one arm above his head and his right arm kind of draped over his chest and there was blood. Eborn said he couldn’t feel a pulse so he started CPR on Richardson. He said he did chest compressions, but could not do breaths because of the blood around his nose and mouth.

Another officer, Officer Peterson, described talking to Gabriel Moreno and Gabriel pointing back toward the clubhouse saying, ‘He hit me.'”

Other officers who were called as backup describe seeing a similar scene – Richardson lying unconscious and bleeding. Eborn and a couple other officers tried to clear his airway but couldn’t tell if it was blocked. They continued trying to give him CPR until EMS arrived and took over. Eborn went with Richardson to the hospital and stayed with him until he passed away.

The defense questioned the officers about their methods of CPR.

Evidence from the truck and the scene that night were looked at, including Richardson’s clothing and what the Moreno brothers were wearing.

Both Anthony and Gabriel had what appeared to be bloodstains on their jeans.

Pictures were taken of Richardson’s hand when he was in the hospital and pictures of Gabriel and Anthony Moreno were taken when they were in holding at Pocatello police. The defense questioned why, if the detectives knew of the possibility Gabriel had been punched and there was at least some redness, why pictures of Gabriel Moreno’s supposed injuries weren’t taken.

The detective answered he wasn’t sure.

An evidence technician from Pocatello Police was also brought in to testify about her procedures and what she saw that night, describing different pieces of evidence.

Another piece of testimony was from the detective in holding that night. He said at one point Gabriel Moreno asked him about “the other guy.” When the detective told him he was deceased, he said Gabriel put his head in his hands and said, “Oh f—.”

Surveillance footage was also looked at and discussed to establish a timeline for the officers arrival and what each saw.

So far in the trial, 13 witnesses have been called. UPDATED 5/01/18 7:00 p.m.: The trial of two brothers accused in the death of a Pocatello man got underway at the Bannock County Courthouse Tuesday.

Gabriel Moreno is accused of second-degree murder and Anthony Moreno is accused of principle to second-degree murder in the death of Nathan Tad Richardson on June 24, 2017. The attorneys gave opening arguments Tuesday morning.

Defense attorney Justin Olsen claims that the Moreno brothers acted in self-defense that night after being attacked by Nate while trying to leave the Center Street Bar. He said Gabriel punched Nate in the face two times causing him to lose consciousness and hit his head hard on the pavement. Nate died of those injuries later that night. Olsen said, “Nate was drunk and coked up and attacks Gabby who defends himself and Nate dies, it’s a sad thing but just because he is dead it doesn’t mean it’s murder. Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean a crime occurred.”

“It’s a tragedy but yet he’s [Gabriel] is being charged with murder for defending himself in an unprovoked attack…You have a right to defend yourself…It’s not murder when you’re defending yourself,” Olsen said throughout his opening statement.

The prosecution claims that while Nate was no angel he did not deserve to die that night. Even though both men had cell phones neither one called 911 and they tried to leave the scene but were stopped by patrol officers.

“Nate was no angel…but that does not excuse or justify his killing,” said Bannock County prosecutor Steve Herzog in the state’s opening statement. Herzog said the murder was done without premeditation, but it was done with malice and forethought and deserves a charge of second-degree murder.

The defense claims Richardson instigated the whole disagreement and claims you can see in one of the surveillance videos Richardson dragging Gabriel Moreno out of the brother’s truck.

The state claims Gabriel continued to hit Richardson, even after Richardson had tried to back down.

From statements made in court, Gabriel Moreno punched Richardson twice – once in the eye and once in the jaw. The blow to the jaw is what caused him to fall back and hit his head on the ground. That blow to the ground with his head is what the autopsy report shows was the cause of death.

Tuesday, several witnesses testified to the state of mind Richardson and the Morenos were in that night. Friends and acquaintances of Richardson who were with him that night testified Richardson wasn’t drunk, agitated or aggressive. But they did testify that they left the bar earlier than Richardson and did not see him after about 1:30 a.m.

One friend of Richardson said they had done cocaine before going to the bar. The autopsy report showed more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in Richardson’s system, as well as cocaine. He said he drove Richardson and himself to the Center Street Clubhouse and claims Richardson seemed happy and calm the whole time he was there.

Employees at the bar say Richardson was intoxicated by the end of the night but still didn’t seem to think he was necessarily aggressive but probably confused. All claim Richardson was worried about leaving his truck at the bar, but Richardson hadn’t driven himself to the bar that night.

One witness, Patrick McCusker, says he met Richardson at the bar that night and Richardson ended up spending time with McCusker and his girlfriend Jasmine. At one point, he said Richardson danced with Jasmine and then tried to teach McCusker to two-step dance. McCusker said Richardson became a little more aggressive as it got later. They tried to give Richardson a ride home, but he wouldn’t leave. He was still looking for his truck and wanting to take it home. McCusker said he heard Richardson say, “Wanna see me drop somebody” and “Watch this” before heading toward the alley where he would later be found beaten.

One other witness describe a possible argument he had heard the Moreno brothers get into earlier in the night, but said it was not with Richardson and he couldn’t be sure it was the Moreno brothers because they were in a large group.

The trial could last anywhere from a few days or a few weeks. During that time, 9 women and 5 men on the jury will hear from witnesses and view evidence including video shot by Anthony Moreno as well as surveillance video from the bar.

Local News 8 and KIDK Eyewitness New 3 will keep you updated as the trial progresses.