Trial begins for Fresno man accused of murdering person who intervened in domestic argument
Julia Sandoval testified Wednesday that within two hours on Dec. 23, 2020 she went from decorating a Christmas tree with candy — to desperately trying to stop the bleeding from her boyfriend’s gunshot wounds.
Despite her efforts and those of rescue workers, her boyfriend, Philip Ozuna, 37, would later die at the hospital.
The murder trial for his suspected killer, 33-year-old Abel Echartea, began Wednesday in Dept. 70.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Kelly Smith during opening statements described to the jury how Ozuna was killed, after he got caught in the middle of a domestic squabble between alleged killer Echartea and Rose Najera.
Meanwhile, Echartea’s defense attorney Antonio Alvarez cautioned jurors that the murder puzzle is missing key pieces — including a positive identification of the killer, plus a witness the defense described as unreliable.
Smith said the night of the murder Ozuna and his girlfriend Julia Sandoval offered to help Najera, her lifelong friend.
Najera needed a ride back to her apartment near Fruit and Ashlan avenues in Fresno to retrieve some of her clothes that somehow made it into a dumpster.
Sandoval testified that Najera and Echartea had been engaged in a series of intense text messages. When they got to Najera’s apartment, they walked over to the dumpster. Najera jumped in and found some of her her belongings.
Sandoval testified that she could see the front door to Najera’s second-floor apartment was open. She told Najera, who nervously jumped out of the dumpster.
“She grabbed me and pulled me to the other side of the dumpster,” Sandoval testified. “A few seconds later she peers around the corner to see who came out of her apartment.”
They continued hiding for a few minutes before going back to Sandoval’s car, where Ozuna was waiting. Najera wanted to leave, but not without her son. They agreed to wait, Sandoval testified.
Najera walked back toward the apartment building as Ozuna moved the car, a dark colored Nissan Altima.
After a few minutes she started to worry and Ozuna stepped out of the car to try and find her, Sandoval testified.
Sandoval testified that she saw Ozuna walk toward Najera’s apartment, but eventually she lost sight of him. Then she got a phone call from Najera.
No one was speaking, but Sandoval said she could hear voices, including Najera’s. She testified that she heard a male voice but she couldn’t recognize it. Then she heard the terrifying sound of gun shots.
“I heard multiple shots, six or seven,” she testified. “They were quick and close together.”
Sandoval testified that she ran toward the breezeway and into a courtyard where she saw Ozuna laying face down on the ground.
“He is still breathing, gurgling,” she testified. “His back was bleeding and so was his mouth.”
Alvarez made sure the jury understood that Sandoval under cross examination didn’t recognize the male voice on the other end of the call she received from Najera prior to the shooting.
The prosecution’s s second witness, maintenance worker Cornelio Guzman, also testified he could not positively identify Echartea as the shooter.
The night of the shooting Guzman said he heard the gunshots and saw a man running with a gun, but he did not get a good look at his face.
“As soon as I made eye contact, I tried not to stare and I tried to look away,” Guzman testified. “My first instinct was to get down in my seat.”
During an interview with detectives Guzman was shown a lineup of photos of possible suspects.
But on Wednesday, he testified that he didn’t remember looking at those photos two years ago. And when asked if he could identify Echartea as the shooter, he could not.
Echartea’s trial resumes Monday.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
