Trial begins in 2022 fatal shooting in South Valley
Apr. 25—Moments before he was fatally shot in 2022, Abner Antillon was driving his vintage red International Scout on a residential South Valley street when a man shouted "slow down."
A jury on Wednesday viewed video from a neighbor's security camera showing that Antillon backed up, got out of his vehicle and began a heated argument with Joseph Gonzales, the man who had told him to slow down.
Moments later, Gonzales fired four gunshots, three of which fatally struck 35-year-old Antillon, attorneys told jurors in opening statements on the first day of Gonzales' trial.
Gonzales, 45, faces a charge of first-degree murder in Antillon's death. His trial is scheduled through Wednesday before 2nd Judicial District Judge Lucy Solimon.
Antillon's killing came only a month after Gonzales testified in the July 2022 trial of his brother, Fabian Gonzales, in the death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens.
A judge sentenced Fabian Gonzales in October 2022 to 37 1/2 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of child abuse resulting in death, seven counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy.
On Aug. 29, 2022, Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call from Joseph Gonzales and found Antillon fatally shot beside his International Scout in the 1600 block of Val Verde SW, near Isleta and Blake.
Prosecutors allege that Gonzales fatally shot the unarmed Antillon in the back as he was retreating to his vehicle.
Gonzales' attorney, Ahmad Assed, told jurors that Gonzales acted in self-defense when confronted by a man who, Assed argued, had just threatened to kill Gonzales.
Both prosecution and defense attorneys said they plan to use the video and audio recording from the neighbor's security camera to help prove Gonzales' guilt or innocence.
Antillon "has an agenda," Assed said in his opening statements. "He didn't like being told to slow down in a neighborhood street. He had an agenda of confrontation, and violent confrontation, and a demeanor that was aggressive from the very get-go."
Gonzales first fired a warning shot into the ground and told Antillon to "get away," Assed said. Antillon replied, "I'm going to kill you," he said.
"Then my client says, "Oh yeah?" and shoots quickly, three shots." Antillon is struck once in the arm and twice in the back. "That happens so quickly; we're talking about seconds."
Prosecutor Jolanna Macias told jurors that Gonzales appointed himself "judge, jury and executioner, turning a verbal altercation into a murder."
"You see Joseph Gonzales take a few steps back, retrieve his firearm and then fire one shot into the ground," Macias said, referring to the video. "As Abner (Antillon) is turning around to go back to his vehicle, Joseph Gonzales quickly fires three more rounds into his back."
Investigators found no weapon on Antillon or in his vehicle, she said.
Gonzales then walked toward Antillon's vehicle and "rifles through it," Macias said. He also looked at the deceased man and called him an "idiot," she said.
"I want you to pay attention to his demeanor and lack of concern," she said. "This is not an accident. (Gonzales) did not act in self-defense. This is willful and deliberate murder."
