By Edward Garcia
Witness testimony continued in the jury trial of Elmer David Rodriquez, who is accused of numerous charges including rape, false imprisonment, and assault with a deadly weapon.
The trial resumed with the People questioning “DN,” the alleged victim and former girlfriend of the defendant, about numerous text messages.
Deputy District Attorney Tiffany Susz presented DN with text messages from November 23, 2016. The messages cited an attempt by the defendant, Mr. Rodriquez, to try to resume an intimate relationship with DN.
DN stated that these text messages were the first time Mr. Rodriquez expressed any interest in getting back together.
“You gave him my place,” one of the defendant’s messages read.
DN responded with, “I’ve always needed you, please don’t go now honey.”
Her testimony made it clear that she meant these words at the time, even though she believed things would not work out. Furthermore, DN stated these words were a way of manipulating the defendant to stick around.
She cited this inner competition, between her and the other girls Mr. Rodriquez would see, as one of the sources driving these text messages.
The People inquired about another set of messages in which Mr. Rodriguez asked, “What did you do when I was in jail?”
“I just left you because you made me feel unappreciated,” DN responded in her message. She elaborated on how other girls would visit the defendant in jail, leaving her with no available time slots.
The defendant also questioned her in regard to a known romantic partner. DN denied introducing the other partner to her family, but he didn’t believe her.
The text messages, ultimately, ended up with the two of them setting a time to meet in person. DN described the meeting as “very bittersweet.”
When questioning the logistics of the meeting, Ms. Susz wondered why DN felt the need to meet with the defendant outside of her apartment. She explained that her roommate did not want Mr. Rodriquez in
the apartment, citing his physical abuse.
The People continued reviewing text messages from November and December of 2016, which DN said were generally positive messages.
Moving forward to January 11, 2017, DA Susz presented text messages which seemed to address an incident of physical abuse that had occurred at a friend’s apartment.
Within the messages, DN complains to the defendant about feeling sore. She specified this soreness was a result of the recent altercation with Mr. Rodriquez.
Ignoring the complaints, the defendant inquired once more about the other romantic partner DN had been involved with.
This was the tipping point for DN. “I mentally can’t do this anymore,” she texted him.
“It doesn’t matter because you’ve had your fun already,” Mr. Rodriquez responded.
DN described being tired of this persistent argument between her and the defendant.
But, even after all this, she still wanted to see him. “I felt I had given my share of damage,” she explained.
Ms. Susz questioned if she had any concerns for her safety, and DN admitted to fearing certain events would reoccur. These fears were not enough to make her stay away. In her eyes, staying after all she had been through would be proof that she cared. Yet, DN adamantly believed she did not deserve any of the physical abuse.
For the next two days, DN insisted she was still in pain but Mr. Rodriquez payed no attention.
DN sent the defendant a picture of some bruises, and asked if that was mercy. The defendant blatantly said, “Yeah, that was mercy.”
These conversations served as a catalyst for DN, who began demanding space from Mr. Rodriquez. “I honestly can’t be around you anymore,” she texted him.
The last text messages reviewed were from January 15, 2017. DN’s testimony clarified that they had come to an agreement about terminating her pregnancy.
DA Susz switched her focus to January 24, 2017, which was the date of another alleged physical abuse.
The defendant planned on going over to DN’s apartment after his anger management class. In response to the People’s questioning of this class, DN admitted to knowing about it but avoided learning about the specifics.
The defendant’s class finished early, prompting him to head over to DN’s apartment. She met him at the door. DN’s testimony stated they started arguing and Mr. Rodriquez began shouting for DN’s male roommate.
Opening the door, the roommate asked, “What do you want?”
Mr. Rodriquez began questioning the roommate about his knowledge of DN’s pregnancy and her actions when the defendant was in jail. The roommate simply said it wasn’t his business, according to DN’s testimony.
The roommate did hint at DN being intimate with an individual Mr. Rodriquez had not known about—a long-time friend from high school.
The news prompted the defendant to tell DN to leave her car, and come back to his apartment.
While they headed back to Mr. Rodriquez’s apartment, DN stated the car ride was full of insistent questions and accusations by the defendant that she was lying to him.
Additionally, she said she was “constantly getting slapped in the face.”
Arriving at the defendant’s apartment, she went straight to the bedroom. DN knew Mr. Rodriquez had not taken the news well, and feared things would get physical.
“I was mortified,” she said.
Eventually, DN was asked to step into the restroom and get in the shower. Her testimony states that, after she removed her clothes, the defendant proceeded to urinate on her. Mr. Rodriquez then told her to close her eyes and raise her hands. With his shoes on, the defendant kicked her in the ribs and abdomen three times.
Ms. Susz asked if she was pregnant at the time, to which DN sadly responded, “Yes.”
DN could not recall how she got out of the restroom. She does remember being on the ground with Mr. Rodriquez stepping on her chest and neck, hyperventilating, and then losing consciousness.
After regaining consciousness, she heard some voices from inside the apartment. The prosecution asked why she didn’t yell for help, and DN explained that she did not want to drag the defendant’s family into their problems.
She went to sit on the bed, and asked the defendant why she was soaking wet. He explained to her that she was convulsing on the floor, so he threw water on her.
Like before, Mr. Rodriquez kept insisting to hear about DN’s past relationships. This time he grabbed a lighter and asked DN where she wanted to get burned. He pressed the lighter against her chest, and then to the back of her thigh for a couple of seconds.
“Eventually, he brought me some ice packs and I went to sleep,” she said.
When asked if she had seen herself in a mirror, DN stated that “my face was swollen, my lips were swollen, I was just red all over.”
DN testified to missing work the next day. She decided it would be better to take the day to heal.
Just as the People were moving on to a different incident, Judge Timothy Fall decided to take lunch and excused everyone until later that afternoon.
Come see the Vanguard Event – “In Search of Gideon” – which highlights some of the key work performed by the Yolo County Public Defender’s Office…
