The trial of Oscar Rosales, charged with the capital murder of Harris County Deputy Constable Charles Galloway, has begun. The prosecution asked the jury to find Rosales guilty and consider the death penalty. Jurors saw dashcam and bodycam videos of the nighttime traffic stop from three years ago. Assistant District Attorney Catherine Johnson said, "He (Rosales) didn't pull the trigger just once, he didn't pull it twice, he didn't pull it three times, the evidence will show there were 22 rifle casings found at that scene. Corporal Galloway was seated in his patrol vehicle ... had not even gotten out yet," according to KHOU. After the shooting, Rosales left the U.S. but was caught in Mexico after an international search.
Rosales's attorneys chose not to give an opening statement and focused on cross-examining witnesses to challenge the prosecution's case. They also filed a motion for a mistrial, raising concerns that jurors might have seen news reports about allegations against Rosales related to a murder in El Salvador. The court denied the motion and continued with the trial. Defense attorney Jon Stephenson said, "We have made efforts to keep that out of the public eye, it is now in the public eye, in spite of the court's instructions to the jurors not to read articles about the case we know that sometimes doesn't happen," as mentioned by KHOU.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Johnson described, "Rosales was smart, calculated and almost got away with this." This refers to a suspect whose actions triggered a large law enforcement investigation. Evidence was traced from the shooting site to Rosales’ residence, leading to his arrest abroad. The trial is expected to last several weeks as the jury examines the evidence and testimonies to determine Rosales's fate.
