Day 8 People v. Felix: Defense Makes Their Case

The defense started to make their case in the ‘People vs. Felix’ trial.

The man charged with killing Palm Springs Police Officers Jose ‘Gil’ Vega and Lesley Zerebny looked down as his sister maria took the stand as his attorney John Patrick Dolan asked her to describe Felix’s behavior the morning of the shooting.

Previous testimony established Maria and Felix got into a fight over the T.V. remote in his room.

Maria then said through a translator, “He got close to me like he really got in my face and in his eyes was great anger.”

Maria said she hadn’t seen him this way until that day, she said during an interview with a sheriff’s investigator his behavior was abnormal.

Dolan asked what she meant by abnormal.’

“Many things to him you could tell he needed help,” Maria answered.

They played the long recording of Maria’s interview with the investigator in the days following the shooting. Much of the recording was inaudible but jurors followed along with transcripts.

Dolan followed up with questions about the intensity of his anger on October 8th.

“He got in my face and started cursing at me,” said Maria.

Maria said Felix grabbed her like he wanted to do something to her, but instead made a growling sound and, ” …  punched a hole through the wall.”

Then Assistant District Attorney Michelle Paradise cross examined Maria, she worked to unravel the defense’s strategy by getting Maria to admit Felix’s angry behavior was normal.

“Have you been afraid of him for many years?” asked Paradise.

Maria answered, “Yes.”

Maria then denied ever seeing her brother punch holes in the wall and said he showed zero signs of being a methamphetamine addict. Something the defense will try to attribute to his actions that day.