SAN ANTONIO – A jury watched a video of a deadly shooting that happened almost two years ago on the first day of trial for a man accused of killing his neighbor.
Luis Alvarado is on trial for the murder of Santos Cedillo, 31.
The incident took place on Sept. 20, 2021, outside the apartment complex where the two men lived in the 1400 block of Somerset Road.
Cedillos’ wife, Maria Hernandez, testified Wednesday that Cedillo, who was on bond at the time, had no problems with anybody at the apartment until Alvarado moved in.
“I didn’t want Santos addressing him because I didn’t have a good feeling about him because there was a lot of stuff going on at the apartments,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said that they often saw Alvarado firing shots in the parking lot with friends and that he would stand in his doorway with his gun visible at his waistband.
The night before the shooting, Hernandez recorded Alvarado in the parking lot fist-fighting with another neighbor.
A video of that altercation shows two men throwing punches at each other and Cedillo yelling in the background along with Hernandez who said she was going to call the cops.
On the night of the shooting, Hernandez said that when Alvarado left the apartment complex he flashed his gun at her and Cedillo, which she said made Cedillo angry.
The jury saw a nearly six-minute video showing Alvarado arriving home and Cedillo confronting him. The two yelled back at forth at each other with Cedillo telling Alvarado to fight him with his fists.
Alvarado, who had a gun in his hand, can be heard yelling back at Cedillo and telling him to let him just go to his apartment.
After several minutes of verbal back-and-forth, Alvarado raised his gun and fired about five shots.
Prosecutors said Cedillo died at the scene after being shot several times, including three times in the back.
The defense said during opening statements said that Cedillo was the aggressor and was always antagonizing and picking on Alvarado and that he acted in self-defense.
“Luis did that night what he had to do. He’s not guilty of murder,” defense attorney Scott McCrum said.
Alvarado is expected to take the stand when the defense takes over the case.
If found guilty, Alvarado faces 5 to 99 years, or life in prison.