The trial of three ex-SAPD officers in Melissa Perez’s shooting death during a mental health call continues as the defense presents witness testimony.
SAN ANTONIO — The trial of a three ex-SAPD officers in the death of a woman after a mental health call in 2023 entered its 19th day Thursday after nearly four weeks of testimony.
Melissa Perez, 46, was fatally shot after authorities say she came at officers with a hammer during a mental health episode at her south-side apartment. Former officers Alfred Flores and Eleazar Alejandro are charged with murder, while former officer Nathaniel Villalobos is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Tuesday, SAPD officer Travis Thompson testified in the case. He was at the scene and was one of the officers who responded to Perez’s apartment the night she was shot. Thompson says that night, he was in the same patrol unit with defendant Nathan Villalobos. He testified they were responding to a call for an officer in trouble and said one of the officers had been hit by glass.
The defense then played body camera video from before the shooting and Thompson explained the officers were watching Perez move around in the apartment and trying to figure out of a way to arrest her.
Retired Sgt. Lisa Miller, who also served as a detective during her nearly 30-year career with SAPD, took the stand as an expert witness Monday for the defense. Miller said she spent hundreds of hours reviewing the case and believes lead investigator Detective Ronald Soto jumped to conclusions when he secured arrest warrants just 16 hours after the June 2023 shooting.
She also said she spoke with a police sergeant who had met with Chief William McManus to tell the chief he believed the three officers were justified in the shooting. She said the sergeant told her he was instructed to stay quiet or face consequences.
That allegation contradicts Soto’s earlier testimony, in which he insisted he was under no pressure from police leadership or the district attorney’s office when he wrote the warrants.
Background on the case
This week marks of the fourth week of testimony in this trial. The defense is expected to call more witnesses Thursday when court resumes at 10:30 a.m.
The trial remains ongoing as jurors weigh whether the defendants were justified in their use of deadly force.
It was early in the morning of June 23, 2023, when authorities say Perez tampered with her complex’s fire alarm system, triggering a police response.
Later that morning, Flores, Alejandro and Villalobos fatally shot at Perez when authorities said she came at them with a hammer. Before 24 hours had passed, they were suspended from the force and jailed after Chief William McManus said their actions didn’t conform with protocols.
The issue of whether officers needed a warrant to enter Perez’s home continues to be a question in court. Prosecutors have argued the officers’ warrantless entry amounted to burglary of a habitation. Defense attorneys counter that Perez committed a felony earlier that morning when she threw a candle at an officer, allowing police to arrest her without a warrant.