The trial of three ex-SAPD officers over Melissa Perez’s fatal shooting enters a sixth day, with bodycam footage and testimonies scrutinized.
SAN ANTONIO — Arguments continue for sixth day in the case against three former SAPD officers accused of shooting and killing a woman during a mental health call in 2023.
Witness testimony and viewing of body camera footage continues to be the focus of the trial over the death of Melissa Perez as it enters its second week. The three defendants, Alfred Flores, Eleazar Alejandro and Nathaniel Villalobos. Flores and Alejandro are charged with murder, while Villalobos is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with Perez’s death; they’re being tried together.
A second San Antonio police officer took the stand Thursday. Officer Jonathan Salinas – who isn’t charged in this case – is the second officer to take the stand in the trial. He was the third officer to arrive to the southwest-side apartment complex early in the morning of June 23, 2023, when Perez was shot and killed by three then-officers during a mental health emergency.
On Thursday, jurors saw more of his body camera footage captured that night, showing when Salinas tried to get into Perez’s apartment to arrest her for a felony. She is seen charged at him with a hammer and throwing a candle.
In the body camera video captured by Salinas that night, some officers can be heard suggesting that they use a Taser on Perez. Salinas himself is also heard asking for a key for her apartment so they can enter through a door rather than coming through a window. At this point, everyone was aware she had a hammer.
Salinas was several feet back when shots were eventually fired by the three former officers.
Background on the case
Police say Perez tampered with the fire alarm system at her southwest-side apartment complex early in the morning of June 23, 2023, triggering a police response.
What ensued in the following minutes – culminating in the three officers shooting and killing Perez when authorities said she came at them with a hammer – is at the center of the case.
On Wednesday, Officer Jesus Rojas, who is also not charged in the case, faced intense cross-examination from the defense. The defense attempted to make the argument that Officer Rojas did not follow protocol which could have prevented the situation from happening.
Body camera footage he captured at the scene was shown to jurors, revealing a conversation between him and Perez where he calmly tried to assess the situation. He is not charged in the case.
Rojas testified he didn’t place Perez under arrest right away because he was trying to gather more information and got the sense she was mentally ill. But once another officer arrived on the scene, body camera footage shows Perez running off and barricading herself in her apartment.
Asked if he was willing to admit in court that he used “poor tactics” at the scene, Rojas responded: “Yeah, sure… like I said, I didn’t get to that point to arrest her yet. I was trying to keep calm and she ran.”
Rojas was never disciplined by SAPD after the 2023 incident. He’s just one of many officers expected to testify in the trial, which could last up to a month.
The defense team on Wednesday – the fourth day of the trial – showed new body camera video of Perez trying to harm an officer with a hammer after he tries going through her window. The defendants’ attorneys also called foul on the state’s argument over whether or not the officers had the right to her apartment at all. That led to brief verbal sparring between prosecutors and the defense team.
Earlier in the week, the prosecution said the video appeared to show the officers on scene, including the defendants, attempting to talk to Perez. Prosecutors said the footage shows the officers did not appear to know how to respond to the complicated situation as Perez appeared to be having a mental health crisis.
The video shows Perez becoming more agitated by the officer’s actions, repeatedly telling them to leave. Prosecutors argue that Perez was not a threat to the officers or herself but instead needed de-escalation.
They played video of officers trying to kick down her door, jumping onto her patio, asking her questions like whether she was in a gang or whether she was taking any medication for mental illness.
The defense argued that the officers have the right to enter her property, claiming she was potentially evading arrest and she was dangerous since she had a hammer in her hand.
The defense also argued that the three officers were not the ones who escalated the situation and that Perez came toward them with the hammer while she was inside the apartment, which then caused them to feel at risk for their lives.