Llera v. LVMPD: DAY 6
Yesterday started with 20-25 people in the courtroom in support of Jorge and his family. The day involved testimony from Jorge’s mother, his father, an expert witness, and another officer. The session involved a lot of discussion of who Jorge was and the type of person he was, with both his parents testifying. However, towards the end of the day, there were more questionable descriptions of the events that took place and more contradictions from the defense’s witnesses. Still, the jury appeared to be listening intently, and Jorge’s parents’ testimony especially appeared to resonate with them.
Jorge’s Mother Testimony
A large part of Jorge’s mother’s testimony started with her describing who Jorge was while establishing his strong character before the court. She showed several photos of Jorge growing up with his siblings and in school. It was a nice change of pace to see Jorge smiling in these photos compared to the past few days of court. She also discussed some important details about who Jorge was, talking about his strong relationship with his sister, his vegetarian lifestyle, his decision to study zoology in college, his interest in becoming a veterinarian pathologist, and more.
His mother described the process of finding out about his murder, expressing the emotional and painful time it created. She described that finding out was a difficult process, with conflicting media reports about what happened, with some even tying Jorge to the shooting at Circus Circus down Las Vegas Blvd.
Some of the jurors seemed very engaged during her testimony, smiling with Jorge’s mother while she was talking about the light her son created during his lifetime and even crying with her when she was describing the challenges she faced in finding out.
During cross-examination from the family’s attorney, she discussed some of the following information:
She has not been the same since it happened
The last time she saw Jorge was Christmas 2018
She did not know he was involved in attending protests
She attempted to find witnesses to his murder on Facebook
The defense attorney did not participate in cross-examination, saying, “I’m very sorry for your loss; I don’t have any questions for you.” Jury questions were also not read.
Jorge’s Father’s Testimony
Jorge’s father also took time to remember Jorge Antonio’s life while showing several photos of him growing up. He talked about being close with Jorge as he was growing up and how he would call to check up on him while he was living in Oregon. He also mentioned some of the activities they enjoyed doing together, like fishing and kayaking.
During his testimony, he mentioned some of these facts:
Jorge Antonio dropped his dad off at work in his truck before going to the protest.
He was aware that Jorge was going to the protest.
He was going to go to a protest with Jorge the next day.
He learned that Jorge died when he went to Jorge’s bedroom and he wasn’t there, and found a business card from the coroner’s office.
The news said that Jorge shot a police officer, which obviously wasn’t true.
He struggled to go through his entire testimony, as he had a hard time looking down and was becoming emotional. He showed a photo of the whole family together, including Jorge and his siblings. Jorge’s dad said that he’ll never be the same after the loss of his son, saying that he can’t believe he’s gone and thinks about it every day.
The defense attorney, McNutt, also asked some questions of Jorge’s dad, which led to him discussing some of the following facts:
Jorge lived with his father in 2013 and 2020 as an adult.
Jorge had training in weapons but worked as an unarmed security guard and was trained in de-escalation.
Jorge’s father carried a weapon and allowed his son to use it.
He warned Jorge to wear a vest for protection because he saw a protest where they were shooting less-lethal bullets.
He went shooting with his son and discussed safety.
Jorge had never shot the gun he was carrying.
Jury Questions
The jury asked Jorge’s dad some of the following questions, with his answers below:
“If Jorge dropped you off at work, how did you get home?”
“By Uber”
“Did Jorge ever tell you why he needed a gun?”
“I don’t know.”
“You went shooting with your son; what kind of shooting did you do?”
“Regular range shooting; target shooting, no tactical, desert shooting, and stationary shooting.”
Dr. Gary Testimony
Dr. Gary Vilke gave testimony on his opinions on Jorge’s case. He discussed his qualifications as trained in emergency medicine with experience in surgery and a board certification, qualifying him as an expert in emergency medicine in the eyes of the court. His testimony was brought forward by the defense largely to provide a rebuttal to Dr. Omalu’s opinions. Dr. Gary reviewed photos, autopsies, the coroner’s report, and Dr. Omalu’s report.
During his testimony, he said the following:
Jorge was hit several times with bean bags in his lower abdomen & legs.
Adrenaline can play a role in impacting pain, which can affect your ability to notice it.
He claimed Jorge’s experience was affected by adrenaline, minimizing the pain of his gunshot wounds.
He said Jorge was likely unconscious immediately when a bullet hit his skull.
He was rebutting Dr. Omalu’s testimony that explained Jorge’s pain and suffering.
This testimony was largely questionable. An important observation was that this doctor was paid $1,000 per hour for his work, about $4,000-$5,000 per day, for a ridiculous total of $25,000. He worked with Anderson’s firm 2-3 times in the past. He also said that he’s only testified in defense for law enforcement. On the bright side, the jury seemed to be skeptical of this testimony and its validity.
He spent most of his testimony and cross-examination attempting to minimize Jorge’s pain, arguing that adrenaline was moving through his body and even trying to make it sound like being shot by bean bags doesn’t hurt. He also had many answers where he said he wasn’t sure, saying that he had no order of when the shots hit, he did not recall where the lethal shots hit on the torso, and he didn’t recall how soon after Jorge started running that the bean bags hit him.
He also did not remember how long paramedics took to reach Jorge, saying he did not remember everything from the report. Another important note is that Dr. Omalu is certified in neuropathology, while Dr. Gary is not, giving an extra layer of credibility in understanding how the body responds to pain.
Neither defense attorney Anderson nor the jury had any questions for Gary.
Officer Bo Dennett Testimony
This is another officer who was assigned to work at the courthouse and was a witness called by the defense team. He had received training in protests and dispersal orders. He said that he was learning methods of non-lethal force. He said that he had experience in de-escalation, “when feasible” through verbal commands, saying that they should be used “when you have time to give warnings.”
During his testimony, he said the following:
He never knew Jorge or had seen him.
He did not arrest anyone else for carrying a gun, wearing armor, or protesting.
Officers Squeo and Snyder were on his team.
They had used force that day, prior to Jorge.
He saw Jorge fumbling with his backpack and wearing dark clothes and told Squeo to “watch out” for Jorge.
He said that he told Squeo to arrest Jorge because of the dispersal order.
He said he yelled, “He’s got something,” which officers did not mention hearing during previous testimonies last week.
He said he saw Jorge start running, before tripping and falling
He saw Jorge run behind a tree, which never happened based on any of the videos or previous testimony.
He said he saw Jorge grab a pistol grip and run 100 feet and fall.
He supposedly saw Jorge’s hands go in and out of his bag, but couldn’t recall seeing the skin of his hands, just the motion he made.
He said Jorge never threatened anyone or used profanity.
He did not see a weapon when walking from the wall to the sidewalk.
He could tell the difference between the bean bag shots and the less-lethal shots.
It’s important to point out that Dennett was wearing a gas mask and had a lot of light in his face (based on the pictures shown). Other officers and witnesses said they had a hard time observing Jorge during this time, so it is questionable that Dennett was able to see so much.
The judge also had to ask several clarifying questions during Dennett's testimony. The judge interrupted at one point to ask if he saw anything. The judge said that Dennett was not giving specific answers, which came across as speculation. Eventually, the judge told him to either give a clear answer or say that he did not recall.
The plaintiff attorney also called out that he made the statement that the gun didn’t skid because it was on a sling today in court, but he said he did not know the gun was on a sling in his initial statement.
Jury Questions
The jury asked Dennett these questions with his answers below:
“Did you think Jorge was a threat? And at what point?”
“Yes, when Jorge had the gun and manipulated it. This was a threat to the people and the protest.”
“Where were you standing when Jorge fell and grabbed his gun?”
“At the top of the steps”
“Did he come to a complete stop when he was hit with the bean bags?”
“He was walking slowly. I’m not sure if he came to a complete stop.”
“If you were watching Jorge from behind, how could you see his hands?”
“I could see him manipulate his gun with his left hand over his shoulder while running.”
Going Forward
The trial continues today, starting at 9 am, and will include the final witness testimonies. Jury deliberation will likely begin tomorrow in the second half of the day, likely making for a shorter day. Tomorrow, the 29th, is also the fact-finding review for the Percy Hawkins case, so we will be asking folks to support by attending the hearing. Please come support if you can! Donations are also greatly appreciated for reimbursing court support attendees for parking and food costs if you are able.
