Murder Defendant Takes the Stand on Thursday

SAN ANGELO, TX -- The third day in the trial against Roberto Arambula concluded after nine hours of testimony and evidence on Thursday. The trial was expected to wrap up before the long weekend begins, but that seems a bit improbable at the current rate.

The jury had an early start on Thursday as proceedings kicked off at 8:30 a.m. with multiple witnesses taking the stand -- including the defendant. In a criminal trial, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution meaning the defendant in a case is not required to testify on their behalf.

After the defense revisited testimony introduced on Wednesday, the state called a new witness to the stand, Officer Nicholas Franchuck. The patrol officer was dispatched to the Shannon Medical Center ER after the stabbing occurred. After his arrival, he spoke with a hospital security guard who provided him with a baggie containing a white substance found on Rhyheme Talton's body when he was admitted to the hospital.

According to Officer Franchuck, the substance appeared similar to methamphetamine, but the bag's content was never tested. Defense attorney Thomas Jackson seized on this fact to bring into question how the investigation was conducted and repeatedly asking who was in charge of the investigation. This theme would later appear in his opening statements as the defense presented their case.

The second law enforcement official to take the stand was Detective Eddie Chavarria, a 26 year veteran of the San Angelo Police Department. The detective would prove to be a key witness as he detailed the nearly hour-long interview he held with Arambula several days after his arrest. He would also discuss jail call recordings introduced by the prosecution as evidence.

According to Chavarria, he was asked by the case agent, Detective Noel Anderson, to assist with the interview after the defendant's family reached out to the department and stated Arambula wished to talk to the investigators. 

During that meeting, Arambula was advised of his Miranda rights and declined to have an attorney present. The audio that was broadcasted over the courtroom speakers was unintelligible at times, but the detective clarified several details during questioning.

In that initial interview, Arambula told the detectives that he was already inside the convenience store when the victim entered with a friend.

According to Arambula, he had met the victim previously while Talton dated his niece, Andrea Rico. Rico was tragically killed in a car accident in November of 2018 in Sterling City.

The defendant stated multiple times that Talton appeared to be looking for a fight as he became more aggressive and agitated. He constantly repeated he had stabbed the victim in self-defense.

"I didn't try to kill the guy, those weren't my intentions," Arambula can be heard saying on the recording. "I don't care if I spend the rest of my life in prison. I will fight this. I was defending myself."

During the statement and his questioning in court, the defendant and several defense witnesses painted a picture of the events that transpired in the early morning hours of January 26th, 2020.

Arambula initially told officers he had walked to the Stripes alone and had encountered a woman named Erika who accompanied him into the store and was visible in the security footage. 

Authorities soon discovered the true identity of the woman was Veronica Gonzales. She was brought in from the Tom Green County Jail to testify. She is currently serving a sentence for possession of methamphetamine.

On the stand, Arambula told the prosecution he had lied about her identity during the interview to "protect her." The duo, who had been dating at the time, appeared to be shopping for hot dogs and beer.

In the security footage, when the victim entered the store, he was seen walking in the direction of the bathrooms. Defense witness M. Rivas testified he was using the facilities when Talton entered the restrooms. According to Rivas, the victim appeared to become agitated after Rivas didn't return the greeting he had offered. 

Rivas testified the animosity with Talton continued once he was in line to pay for items behind the defendant. He stated Talton would repeatedly threaten to fight both him and Arambula once they were outside the convenience store.

According to Rivas, he decided to come forward weeks after the incident occurred after seeing the stories published by San Angelo Live regarding the stabbing and Arambula's arrest. He told the jury he believed the defendant had only been defending himself from the victim's initial attack. Rivas also testified he never observed any weapon used by the victim.

The Stripes cashier told the jury he had told Talton to calm down -- even after the victim attempted to fight him. A female customer who was further down the line testified she heard Arambula say "not today" as Talton instigated the argument. She described the victim as being frantic after he was stabbed and saw him ran through the store.

According to Veronica Gonzales, she was in shock for most of the incident and could not recall certain details. She described the victim's and the defendant's initial contact as normal -- but stated Talton escalated the situation. 

She remembered seeing Talton swing first, but could not clearly describe what happened afterward. She testified she left the Stripes on her own and met up with Arambula hours after the incident.

Arambula told detectives that after he ran from the scene he cut through alleys and backways to hide. He described "chucking" the murder weapon, a purple buck knife, and a white hoodie in a dark alleyway before seeking shelter.

Chavarria testified that after he finished taking Arambula's statement, they briefly visited the area where the defendant believed he had removed the clothing and discarded the knife. The knife was never located by police.

"I threw everything because I didn't want to get caught," Arambula testified.

During questioning, the defense appeared to imply not enough time had been spent searching for a knife that had been discarded several days before.

The major focus of the defense appeared to convince the jury that Arambula had acted out of fear for his life -- not because of a personal vendetta against Talton. Arambula admitted to investigators he was detoxing from heroin at the time of the incident. On the stand, he said his adrenaline had been running as the situation unfolded over a matter of seconds. 

During Chavarria's testimony, the defense repeatedly asked if he believed the defendant was telling him the truth. The detective explained that his job was not to insert his opinion into an investigation -- that he had simply gathered the facts in the tasks he was assigned.

"We do not put personal opinions in our reports, only facts," said Chavarria.

Part of those duties included reviewing the recorded jail calls on which the defendant can be heard speaking a mix of English and Spanish with different individuals. In those calls, Arambula can be heard saying he had stabbed Talton at least three times -- which was consistent with the medical examiner's report.

During one call, the defendant tells his brother Talton had been talking "mess" and appears to slightly chuckle after talking about the stab wounds.  

In a different call, Arambula said after the initial stab wound he grabbed a hold of Talton's muscle shirt and stabbed him two more times before they hit the floor. Arambula would stick to that sequence of events even after facing intense scrutiny by the prosecutor.

In a cross-examination of Detective Chavarria, the defense disputed part of the transcript and translation of one of the calls, insisting the words presented to the jury were different than those said on the call. While on the stand, Detective Chavarria agreed with two of those changes to the disputed transcript.

The defense also argued it was a breach of privacy to listen to personal phone calls placed by inmates. Chavarria explained that all calls made by inmates are recorded and both the inmate and receiver are informed by an automated system.

Detective Chavarria was the last witness offered by the prosecution and the defense began questioning multiple witnesses.

During the defense's video presentation, the team faced a small snag after an edited video of the security footage was shown to the jury. Amid an objection from the prosecution, Jackson explained there were two versions of the video and he had simply been provided the incorrect copy.   

The correct video file shown to the jury sometime later showed a total of five security videos played on the screen at the same time. This was in an effort to show different angles of the same moment as captured by the security system. The second copy was not altered in any way and only featured slightly louder audio.

While on the stand Arambula was questioned about every aspect of his testimony by the D.A. The defendant repeatedly claimed he had tried to deescalate the situation with Talton, but argued the victim appeared to be "on something" during the altercation.

He confirmed he had brandished the knife at Talton as a warning sign after he felt threatened by the victim. D.A. Palmer pushed back arguing that showing a knife with the blade exposed was not a warning but a threat.

"I didn't go into the store to fight," said Arambula. "I took the threat seriously. I killed Mr. Talton. I was in fear for my life."

Arambula repeatedly said he used a deadly weapon because he wasn't sure if Talton was also armed. He had only seen him pull up his sweats after he was struck on the side of the head.

"I wasn't trying to find out if he had a weapon. I was trying to survive," said Arambula.

The defendant confirmed he knew he had initially stabbed Talton in the area near his heart, but continued his "attack" because he didn't know if the victim or anyone else would attack him or those in the store. The defendant stated he felt the cashier, Mr. Rivas, and himself had all been threatened by Talton.

Arambula testified that Talton had managed to push him off and had jumped up and ran away from him. He stated he found out Talton had died the next day.

On that note, the jury was adjourned for the evening and will return on Friday for additional testimony at 9:00 a.m