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West Jordan • The words of a dying man caught in the crossfire during a drug dispute shouldn't be used as evidence in his nephew's murder trial, defense attorneys argued Tuesday.
Prosecutors say that 26-year-old Alexander Leroy Vasquez pulled a gun first during a 2012 drug dispute that ended with his uncle and another man dead. He scheduled to go to trial in late August on six felony charges, including aggravated murder.
The fatal encounter started when several members of the family were hanging out in a Sandy garage and Vasquez brought in a group of people looking to collect on a drug debt, according to court papers filed in the case. Simon Vasquez, 40, tried to leave, but his nephew told him to stay and frisk the trio for weapons, police said.
Simon Vasquez was shot as his nephew exchanged gunfire with one of the newcomers, Paul Giovale, 41, who was killed in the encounter, according to charging documents.
Simon Vasquez survived, but he was paralyzed from the neck down, unable to eat or drink, his mother and friend testified Tuesday. He decided to go off life support, but before he died he told a detective that Vasquez started the dispute by pointing a gun at the group shortly after they entered the garage.
Defense attorneys contend that Simon Vasquez's story changed as he lay paralyzed in a hospital bed. Right after the shooting, he said Giovale shot him and his nephew also had a gun. But when he talked to a detective for a second time, he said that his nephew pulled a gun first, according to court documents filed in the case.
Lawyer Heather Brereton said the statement should be tossed out because Simon Vasquez was under heavy medication and had already decided to die.
"Mr. Vasquez was mad about what happened," Brereton said. "There are a lot of problems with the statement that we would typically need to confront the witness about."
Prosecutors say there weren't major differences between Simon Vasquez's two police interviews, and his second statement is supported by other evidence.
Judge Bruce Lubeck heard arguments on the matter Tuesday, but he didn't immediately set a deadline for a decision.
Prosecutors also want to block Alexander Vasquez from claiming he was defending himself. They claim that he planned to bring the three into the garage and pointed a gun at them as soon as they entered, so he can't say he was protecting himself from Giovale.
The defense says it's too soon to make a decision on what arguments they can make at trial. Lubeck is also weighing the self-defense question.