The trial of Joseph Allen Garcia is now underway.
He is charged with killing Mario Alberto Gonzalez back in 2003 and seriously wounding three others after firing shots into a crowd at a residence.
An alleged member of the Zeta drug cartel Garcia was once a top 15 most wanted fugitive. Several witnesses took the stand and in an unexpected twist of events Garcia's bond was revoked for the remainder of the trial.
Our Gina Benitez has our top story at ten.
The final witness of the day claimed he remembered hearing over 40 shots. He was shot at but not directly injured. He says a bullet grazed his arm and pierced his shirt.
When another witness was shown a picture of a lifeless Alberto Gonzalez., he began to cry and uttered, "I lost a friend."
"We also had some of the victims that were involved in this case and suffered injuries who positively identified Mr. Joseph Allen Garcia as the gunman who on the night of December 13, 2003 committed the murder of Mario Alberto Gonzalez."
Between four and five witnesses testified today and Alaniz feels confident that the evidence presented could reasonably result in a guilty verdict. The District Attorney says the biggest delay in bringing this case to justice was the fact that Garcia fled the country for nearly five years. With that in mind, Alaniz proposed that Garcia spend the remainder of the trial behind bars.
"The main reason that we filed the motion to revoke the bond at the conclusion of today's case is that the evidence that was brought is very substantiated and also because of Mr. Garcia's history of being a fugitive."
At the end of testimony today, the judge granted the motion.
"As close as we are to the conclusion of this case, we cannot take a chance and risk. The state of Texas cannot risk giving him the opportunity to leave the courthouse today and being so close to the border and have the resources to flee into Mexico."
We attempted to get comment from Garcia's attorneys on the decision made by the judge but they declined.
If Garcia is found not guilty, Alaniz says his incarceration for the remainder of the trial would be a small inconvenience.
If the defendant is in fact convicted of the charges, the District Attorney says he will actively pursue a prison sentence.
The testimony for the trial concluded at around four p.m. this afternoon and will continue tomorrow morning at eight a.m. sharp.