By Maxwell C. Myrhum
As a Davis domestic violence case nears its close, the officers responding to the incident testify in regard to their pursuit and apprehension of the defendant.
The defendant, Jesus Reyes, is charged with false imprisonment, intimidating witnesses or victims, and corporal injury in a Davis domestic violence incident on April 2019. On Jan. 28, 2020, Corporal Torres, Sergeant Ramos, and Officer Brown all delivered first-hand accounts of the events leading up to and including the arrest of Reyes.
Deputy DA Daniele Schlehofer opened her examination of the incident by calling Corporal Alex Torres to the stand. After a brief analysis of Corporal Torres’ qualifications and training as an Officer, Schlehofer turned her attention to Torres’ actions on the day of the alleged domestic violence incident.
On that day in April of 2019, Corporal Torres was in his designated area of patrol for the evening as part of his assignment when he received a call to an apartment complex in West Davis. Upon arrival, Cpl. Torres was immediately in contact with the two witnesses, LD and SR.
With the aid of Corporal Torres’ body camera footage, the recording of both witnesses’ initial interviews was displayed in the courtroom.
The first witness interview was of LD. The witness explained to Torres that they observed a man striking and headbutting another person while parked in the apartment complex parking lot. At first, the witness stated that they did not know what to do but then yelled at the man, to which the witness received a response back in the form of an alleged racial slur.
After the individuals in the car had left the parking lot, LD went to examine the parking space, as they had seen items from the car falling out. From this inspection, a receipt from Burger King 
was recovered and handed over to Torres by the witness.
The next witness, SR, reaffirmed the statements produced by LD; however, SR did elaborate that they did observe the man in the car grabbing, punching, and slapping the alleged victim in the car. These acts were displayed with multiple different motions demonstrated by the witness in the footage. SR also added that the alleged victim, noted to be a woman, seemed to have been making attempts to exit the vehicle through the door.
After the conclusion of the body camera footage, the Deputy DA questioned whether or not Cpl. Torres had shown the witnesses the driver’s license belonging to the individuals registered to the identified car and license plate. Torres responded that there was a positive identification of the car’s owner, which prompted Cpl. Torres to investigate the owner’s residence.
Upon arrival at the owner’s residence in East Davis, Cpl. Torres was greeted by the alleged victim’s (now) ex-husband, who let him inside to discuss the events of the day.
The alleged victim’s ex-husband consented to have his cell phone used in order to locate the alleged victim’s cell phone. The alleged victim’s cell phone was found in Winters, and, as a result of this discovery, Cpl. Torres contacted the Winters Police Department for a welfare check. This was to no avail, but a later use of the location app did discover a definite location where the alleged victim’s cell phone was.
After returning to the Davis Police Station to write up the incident’s paperwork, Cpl. Torres was then requested to assist in the recovery of the alleged victim and arrest of the suspect.
Cpl. Torres then described to the court the scene of the arrest. The defendant had been arrested outside his Winters residence by Winters Police, and the alleged victim was then in the direct care of Cpl. Torres to be examined and processed.
The processing of the alleged victim included taking photographs of any injuries and general appearance, which were displayed for the court to see. The extent of such injuries included cuts, bruises, and discoloration of the neck and face area.
Soon after this testimony of the arrest scene was complete, Cpl. Torres stated that the victim expressed to him that she did try to get out of the car earlier in order to get away from Reyes but were unable to.
The next testimonies for the court to hear were from Winters Police Department’s Sergeant Albert Ramos, and his partner, Officer Gordon Brown. Both officers described their involvement and response to Reyes’ residence in Winters and subsequent arrest.
Reyes allegedly was uncooperative with both officers as they attempted to make contact at the front door of the residence, but, after retreating inside the residence, the officers talked with him through a window near the front of the house.
Through the window, the officers attempted to speak with Reyes and convince him to come out of the house to discuss the alleged domestic violence incident that occurred earlier in Davis.
Reyes insisted that the alleged victim was not with him at the Winters residence; however, Officer Brown could see the alleged victim on her hands and knees in a position described as similar to that of being under a table during an earthquake drill. As a result of the communication of the officers that the alleged victim was in the room, Reyes closed the window and any communication with the officers.
After several minutes, Reyes came out of the house with the alleged victim and was cooperative with Sergeant Ramos and Officer Brown during his arrest.
The court will meet again on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. for closing arguments.
