By Caleb Mathews
SAN FRANCISCO–Arguments for the trial of Enrique Saucedo-Zapeda proceeded as Judge Caffese and the jury listened to cross-examination of the alleged victim and the alleged victim’s boyfriend at the time.
The defendant, Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda is being charged with rape from an event that occurred on May 20, 2014.
The defense side argues that Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda did not rape the alleged victim, and was outside drinking and playing cards with the rest of the people at the party. Mr. McBurney represented the defendant in court, questioning the alleged victim this morning. The alleged victim remembered that she woke up in bed and sobered up from the alcohol that was consumed from the party the night before.
The alleged victim remembered standing near Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda’s bed and leaving his house with her boyfriend at the time. When the boyfriend walked into the room after the event happened, she was fixing her clothes.
The prosecution argued that the defendant did rape the alleged victim, as it was in his bed, and the alleged victim had a clear memory of what the defendant looked like and the time and place of the event. Before the alleged victim went to the hospital, she was questioned by the police and asked what happened. She could remember everything but was in shock, as this questioning was the day after the event. She told the police that she didn’t want to have sex in Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda’s bedroom.
The alleged victim had a good memory of what the house looked like in May 2014, although she had a lot on her mind like the possibility that the defendant had an illness and other things. After the event happened, she could only remember going into the street, but not what happened after that. Before the alleged rape, she remembered her boyfriend outside chatting with friends in the yard at Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda’s address.
There was confusion about where the bed was in relation to the bathroom because Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda recalled going inside to use the bathroom, but not the one in his own bedroom at the time of the event. For example, the defense attorney asked of the alleged victim if there was a door, since the room looked compact in a picture presented to the court.
The second witness, the boyfriend at the time of the alleged victim, testified next. The witness and Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda met as co-workers at a cafe in the downtown San Francisco Market area.
The witness described the event as “a get-together” with food and alcohol involved as far as the witness can recall. He remembered nobody really getting too drunk at the party, except for Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda who had had tequila and five to six beers.
The witness took the alleged victim to the party with him, and he could remember having sex with her there. They both had sex in the bedroom and in the bathroom, as far as what the witness could remember from 2014.
The alleged victim was drunk and asked for a resting place after the two had sex. The whole time the witness allegedly remembered Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda being outside while the two were having sex inside.
After the event, the witness recalled Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda going inside and using the bathroom, but the witness didn’t know if he actually went inside the house to use the bathroom. The witness believes the alleged victim was abused by Mr. Saucedo-Zapeda.
