Second trial in 2019 fatal Fairview shooting begins. A timeline of what led us here
With the start of the trial for the second defendant in the 2019 killing of a Fairview man in a drug deal gone wrong, there have been a lot of developments leading to this point.
David Duque-Soto, 23, was found fatally shot in his Fourth Street apartment with two 9 mm shell casings and one .32-caliber casing near his body and with signs of acute blunt force trauma. Five people were arrested in his killing, four of them charged with felony homicide: Lexie Burke, Carlos Juan Burgos, David Daniel Martinez and Raul Alexander Torres.
The fifth, Dylan Rodriguez, was charged with hindering apprehension by concealing a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon, receiving stolen property and possession of marijuana.
Here's a timeline of everything leading up to the current trial:
June 29, 2019
According to testimony and surveillance video evidence, the group of men met up at a gas station before visiting Duque-Soto's apartment in order for Burke to buy a pound of marijuana. They left the apartment without the drugs and met up at a different gas station after Duque-Soto allegedly pulled a gun on them.
It was at that gas station where the plan to rob Duque-Soto of his drugs and gun began, prompted by their anger about what had happened. Just before 7 p.m. on that muggy June night, Martinez allegedly drove Burke, Burgos and Torres back to the Fairfield apartment. Just over a minute later, three gunshots were fired and the three men allegedly fled the scene.
Police found the gun in Rodriguez's attic.
July 2019
Burke, Burgos, Martinez and Torres were charged with felony murder.
Feb. 16, 2022
Burke was the first to go to trial, beginning on Feb. 16, 2022. He was accused of being the mastermind behind Duque-Soto's death.
During his opening statement, Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Fitzpatrick told the jury that Burke had planned an armed robbery and then an hour later altered the plan, so that it ended Duque-Soto's life within 60 seconds.
Fitzpatrick read several texts between Burke and Martinez that detailed Burke's looking for a gun to use to rob Duque-Soto.
Rodriguez testified against Burke, saying he tried to warn the group members that they shouldn't go back to Duque-Soto's apartment.
Burke's attorney, Ronald Hunt, accused Rodriguez of lying during his testimony to get less jail time, which was vehemently denied. Rodriguez said he was there on the advice of his attorney and hadn't made a deal with the prosecution.
Just days after Rodriguez's testimony, Burke pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter in addition to the original charges of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and weapons counts.
Prosecutors are recommending that Burke be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison under the No Early Release Act. However, there is an addendum that would allow the sentence to be reduced dependent on his truthful testimony against co-defendants Torres, Burgos and Martinez.
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July 2022
In July, Rodriguez was charged with perjury, felony murder, accomplice liability to commit armed robbery, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said Rodriguez is the one who provided the gun to Burke, Torres, Burgos and Martinez.
Rodriguez had his pretrial release revoked in August after the issuance of the more serious charges.
Burgos, Martinez and Torres were originally going to be tried together, and jury selection had begun, but due to an unspecified issue, Martinez's trial was separated from Burgos' and Torres' trial.
Feb. 7, 2023
Jury selection began again, and Martinez's trial started on Feb. 7.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fairview NJ fatal shooting: Timeline of events before trial
