By Edward Garcia
This past Monday afternoon, witness testimony resumed in the jury trial of Elmer David Rodriguez, accused of multiple counts of domestic violence. Witnesses testified to an altercation in 2015 between the defendant and his former friend.
The first witness of the afternoon saw the altercation on August 22, 2015, and was one of the first to contact the police.
Viewing the altercation through his front door’s peep hole, he testified to seeing a man banging on his neighbor’s apartment door. This man ended up kicking the door off its hinges, and attacking the neighbor.
While on the phone with 911, the witness saw the attacker pick up a skateboard and start swinging it around. The viewing angle did not allow him to see if the skateboard was striking his neighbor.
Deputy Public Defender Monica Brushia asked for a bit more detail during her cross-examination, specifically of what was being said during the altercation.
“Get out,” the witness stated. It was all he could hear and remember from that night.
Furthermore, the altercation “seemed like several minutes,” he stated.
Switching back to the People, Deputy District Attorney Tiffany Susz wondered if the police identified the right attacker. In response, after talking with the police, the witness looked around and 
“noticed the attacker in handcuffs.”
After Judge Timothy Fall excused the first witness, Ms. Susz called to the stand former Davis Police Officer Jared Metcalf.
Officer Metcalf was dispatched to the Alhambra Apartments to deal with this specific incident.
According to his testimony, when he arrived the front door was completely off its hinges, and the subject was standing in the front room.
Officers were issuing commands but the subject would not listen. Once they removed him from the apartment, Officer Metcalf entered to “find blood on the kitchen floor.”
While recounting the events, Metcalf stated the victim was found in bad shape. He had a swollen eye, numerous cuts, and an ear that was “almost cut off it, appeared to me.”
The defendant was put under arrest, Metcalf stated.
When asked about the incident, Mr. Rodriguez simply said he was attending a party and looking for his girlfriend. He denied hitting anyone or being involved in a fight, according to Officer Metcalf.
Ms. Brushia asked Metcalf about the intoxicated states of both the victim and defendant. He did not see any sign of intoxication from the victim, but Mr. Rodriguez demonstrated numerous objective signs. Aside from smelling of alcohol, he had “bloodshot, watery eyes.”
Ending his testimony, Officer Metcalf clarified that the victim told other officers that he had been jumped.
Moving to a new witness, the defense counsel brought forward another former resident of the Alhambra Apartments and neighbor to the 2015 incident. She was also the defendant’s ex-girlfriend.
The ex-girlfriend explained she first met Mr. Rodriguez in March 2015—they started dating three months later. They were introduced by the witness’ neighbor.
After being asked about her relationship, the witness stated Mr. Rodriguez wasn’t the perfect boyfriend and that they would “argue from time to time.”
These arguments never really got aggressive, she stated. She also made it clear Mr. Rodriguez never threatened or harmed her.
Ms. Brushia switched focus to the witness’ neighbor—the victim of the altercation discussed earlier.
The witness testified to having a friendship with the victim of the incident, but being better friends with his roommate.
The witness’ testimony highlighted a particular night when the victim picked a fight, “with about five other men.” She stated the victim, when he got intoxicated, liked to push people’s buttons.
In regard to the August 22 incident, the witness stated she was not home but did hear about the fight afterwards. She attended court to support both the victim and Mr. Rodriguez.
Under questioning from Ms. Brushia, the witness admitted to receiving messages from girls that Mr. Rodriguez used to date. He would even show her the messages these other girls would send to him.
These texts would beg the defendant to get back with them but then they would “come back with text messages threatening him and me,” the witness stated.
Her worries did not last long because their relationship came to an end when the defendant was incarcerated. During this time, the witness did admit that she “stayed loyal to him.”
Moving to the present day, she clarified that the charges against the defendant were unknown to her until an investigator told her about them.
Ms. Brushia asked if finding out she had been cheated on would bother her.
“Didn’t really matter to me,” the witness stated.
In cross-examination, Deputy District Attorney Susz brought out a handful of text messages which were sent between the witness and the defendant.
Aside from cheating on her, the messages demonstrated Mr. Rodriquez would get mad at the witness for interacting with other men. She admitted he would get jealous.
Ms. Susz questioned if Mr. Rodriquez would start fights.
“Not that I can recall,” the witness said.
In a quick redirect, the witness asserted she would not lie for the defendant. If he had harmed her, then she wouldn’t have testified on his behalf, she concluded.
After the ex-girlfriend finished her testimony, Ms. Susz called to the stand the final witness of the afternoon—the victim of the August 22 altercation, and former friend of Mr. Rodriguez.
The victim explained that he first met the defendant in school.
Deputy DA Susz wanted to know a bit more about the defendant’s girlfriend, but the victim found the question problematic.
“Don’t know who to call his girlfriend,” he stated.
Focusing on August 22, the victim’s testimony stated he had gone to a concert with the defendant and a friend. Mr. Rodriguez started arguing with some individuals so the “bouncers asked us to leave.”
After arriving at his apartment, the victim testified that the defendant left to go to the neighbor’s apartment, while he stayed and watched a movie.
Later that night, Mr. Rodriguez started knocking on his apartment door. The victim testified that, as he made his way to the door, it just fell down.
“I got upset and asked him to leave,” he said.
Mr. Rodriquez proceeded to break the television, then got into a fist fight with the victim.
“What’s wrong with you?” the victim asked.
At first, he didn’t want to fight back but was given no other choice. This is when the defendant picked up the skateboard and hit the victim in the right cheek bone. Grabbing a glass cup, the defendant struck the victim above the left ear.
Aware of the lost cause, the victim ran to the back of the apartment and was later found by the ambulance.
He didn’t remember talking with any police officers.
When asked about telling officers he was jumped, the victim stated “that doesn’t make any sense.”
Several months later, Mr. Rodriguez came up to the victim and offered an excuse, which he paid little attention to.
“Get out of my face with that,” the victim said.
Like before, Ms. Brushia placed her emphasis on the individual’s intoxicated state. The victim explained they had consumed alcohol before leaving to the concert, but no major drinking occurred at the event.
Appealing to previous testimony, the defense focused on the victim’s aggressive behavior while drunk, and his tendency to lose consciousness.
He could not recall any fight against five men.
Lastly, Ms. Brushia presented two photos to the court which had the victim lying down in a front yard and lying on a couch during Picnic Day.
When asked if he had been sleeping or passed out, the victim stated he was “getting some rest.”
“Alcohol is not a problem,” he assured the court.
Ending the afternoon testimony, Judge Fall excused the witness and court was adjourned until tomorrow.
