SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE (8:27 p.m., March 1, 2024): Rudy Pardo was found guilty of the murder of Kevin Osborne on Friday.
Pardo, who could have been sentenced to life in prison, was only sentenced to six years in prison.
Below is the original story from Tuesday.
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Another murder trial is beginning this week. Testimony revealing more details into the deadly shooting of Kevin Osborne last year at the hands of his stepson’s best friend, Rudy Pardo.
Osborne was confronted by his stepson Orion Herrera and Pardo outside his mother-in-law’s house on Feb. 13, 2023.
The entire incident, according to the state, started after Osborne got into an argument with his wife and said he was going to bring his mother-in-law over to talk to her.
Herrera took the stand and explained his mother called him and said that Osborne was heading over to her mom’s house and that he was going to drag her out.
Herrera said he told his friend Pardo to go with him to the house, and both took their handguns.
Surveillance video of the incident shows Osborne sitting in a van outside the home on Pickford Avenue.
Herrera approaches the van, and he and Osborne begin talking. On the stand Tuesday, Herrera said he was telling Osborne to leave.
Herrera said Osborne got out and came at him and that he racked his gun.
Pardo eventually walked over, racking his gun in the process, Herrera said.
Herrera said Osborne was the aggressor and even threw a punch at Pardo, who then fired the deadly shot.
However, discrepancies arose when the state implied that Herrera never mentioned Osborne’s intent to forcibly remove his grandmother from her house during the initial police statement. Herrera’s response raised doubts about the consistency of his account.
Herrera also claimed that Pardo did not touch, bump, or push Osborne until after the shooting occurred. This contradicted the state’s assertion that Pardo admitted to physically engaging with Osborne, resulting in a punch thrown by Osborne in retaliation.
The state also noted that Herrera has been in communication with Pardo and the defense since the shooting occurred.
Herrera admitted to discussing the case with Pardo and the defense over the past year but that it was only about the status of the case.
The state said in one particular phone conversation that they discussed a game plan and talked about self-defense law. Herrera said he didn’t remember.
Testimony will continue on Wednesday. If found guilty, Pardo faces up to life in prison.