Man mistakenly arrested for burglary of his own home faces jury on charge of resisting arrest in same incident
An Angelina County jury today will consider the fate of a Lufkin man who is charged with misdemeanor evading arrest for a March 2009 incident in which he was mistaken for a burglar in his own home.
On March 15, 2009, a neighbor reported seeing a black man kick in the front door of the home at 111 Finley Street. When police arrived on scene, they repeatedly told 30-year-old Marco Saucedo, whom they believed to be the burglar, to come out of the home. Saucedo, who doesn’t speak English, did not comply and police entered the home, finding that he had locked himself in the bathroom, according to county prosecutor Gary Taylor. Taylor on Tuesday played dashboard camera video for the jury of five men and a woman in County Court-at-Law No. 2 Judge Derek Flournoy’s courtroom.
“Now you’ve got nine officers here. Come on out,” Lufkin Police officer John Davis says on the video, followed by the sound of knocking.
“Come on out with your hands up,” the officer says.
According to testimony, the officers sprayed pepper spray under the crack in the bathroom door and Saucedo came out of the bathroom and resisted arrest, at which point police shot him multiple times with a pepper ball gun. Police then tackled Saucedo, who was fighting being taken into custody, to the living room floor, Davis said. In the process Saucedo suffered a large gash to the top of his head, according to testimony in his trial Tuesday.
“He got that gash in the bathroom because you hit him multiple times,” defense attorney Ryan Deaton said to Davis during cross-examination in Flournoy’s courtroom.
“No, sir, I do not agree with that,” Davis responded.
When asked if anyone attempted to speak Spanish to Saucedo, Davis said police asked him if he spoke English.
“And what did he say?” Deaton asked.
“No response,” Davis answered.
Deaton noted that there were two Spanish-speaking officers on the scene.
Saucedo was initially taken from the scene to the jail, but after it was determined he needed medical attention, he was taken to a local hospital, Deaton said. On the way to the hospital, Davis found out Saucedo was in his own home via a phone call from Lufkin Police Sgt. Scott Cagnon, according to testimony.
“Six minutes later you find out he lived there when you were en route to the hospital with him,” Deaton said. “What was your response?”
“A curse word and that I couldn’t believe it,” Davis replied.
When Deaton played the audio from inside Davis’ car, Davis can be heard telling Cagnon, “He lives there? OK, why did he kick the door in?” After a short pause, the officer says, “All right, what do we need to do?”
Deaton contended in court that Lufkin Police had no intention of filing an evading arrest charge against Saucedo until after they realized the burglary charge would not stick.
“At the jail you didn’t say anything about resisting arrest, just the burglary,” Deaton said to Davis.
“Sir, burglary is the more serious offense,” Davis said.
Before Davis left the stand, Deaton asked a few follow-up questions to reiterate his feelings that his client had been wronged.
“So he’s been shot with pepper balls and sprayed in his own living room in the eyes, right?” Deaton asked.
“Yes,” Davis said.
“My client wasn’t armed and he was in his own house, in his own bathroom?” Deaton continued.
“Yes, sir.”
In rebuttal, Taylor asked Davis if the whole situation could have been avoided, to which Davis said it could have. Deaton objected, citing speculation, but Flournoy overruled the objection.
“Yes,” Davis said, “if he just would have said, ‘I live here. This is my house. What do you want?’”
A verdict is expected to be announced in the case today. Closing arguments will begin at 9 a.m
http://lufkindailynews.com/news/local/article_f9d8d756-b27e-11e0-912d-001cc4c002e0.html
btw he was convicted and lost his lawsuit - east texas justice
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