SAN ANTONIO – A single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun killed Ryan Yearley, 21, on Thanksgiving morning 2012. Jesus Rivera, 21, is on trial, accused of murdering Yearley.
Yearley was Rivera's sister's live-in boyfriend. The three shared a home in the 2000 block of Delgado Street where the shooting occurred.
"In this case, it appears to be that the barrel of the shotgun didn't waver or move, therefore it was supported," said San Antonio Police Department Dt. Timm Angell during testimony on Thursday in Rivera's murder trial.
Prosecutors said Angell's testimony supports the allegation that the shooting was not an accident as Rivera's lawyer claimed.
During cross examination, Joe Stenberg, Rivera's attorney, repeatedly questioned Angell's credentials asking whether he was a firearms expert.
"I've answered that three times –- I'm not a firearms expert," Angell said, appearing frustrated. "But I think that I'm entitled to give you the opinion that I believe based on the evidence and the facts of the case."
His opinion: This was a murder and not an accidental shooting.
Following the shooting, Yearley's body was moved from the home to a garage apartment behind the home by River's sister and another man. Both are expected to testify when the trial resumes on Friday in Judge Lorina Rummell's 144th District Court.