Jury finds Facundo Chavez guilty of capital murder in death of El Paso sheriff's deputy

A jury deliberated for only about 30 minutes before finding Facundo Chavez guilty of capital murder in the video-recorded shooting death of El Paso County Sheriff's Deputy Peter Herrera during a traffic stop four years ago.

Chavez, 31, will face the death penalty or life in prison without parole after being convicted of the charge of capital murder of a peace officer in the death of Herrera during a traffic stop on a road in San Elizario on March 22, 2019.

The sentencing phase of the trial is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Friday.

Chavez had no visible reaction when the judge read the jury's decision Thursday, Aug. 3, amid heightened security with about eight law enforcement officers lining the walls of the small courtroom. About a dozen spectators were sent to an overflow room as the courtroom filled to capacity.

Herrera's family sat in the packed courtroom holding hands and crying after breathing a collective sigh of relief as the verdict was read. They walked out of the courtroom in tears and hugged each other.

The family, defense attorneys nor state prosecutors commented on the verdict as they left the courtroom.

This is the first major trial for new El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks and his team. It is one of two death penalty cases pending in El Paso. The outcome of this case could give a glimpse of how Hicks and his team will handle the Walmart mass shooting case, and how El Paso jurors will react to the possibility of sentencing a defendant to death.

The jury of nine women and three men heard six days of testimony from Chavez and law enforcement officers who arrived at the scene to find the mortally wounded deputy laying in a pool of his own blood. On the seventh day, they convicted him of killing Herrera.The same jury will decide whether he receives death or life in prison. Judge Diane Navarrete is presiding over the trial, which began on July 26, in Criminal District Court 1 at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.

Deputy Herrera 'acting to protect our community'

Herrera, 35, was an 11-year veteran with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

The shooting occurred about 1:50 a.m. March 22, 2019, when Herrera pulled over Chavez and Piña in the 1000 block of Chicken Ranch Road, near Socorro Road in San Elizario. Piña was a passenger in the car.

Herrera pulled over Chavez’s vehicle for two traffic violations: failing to dim high beam headlights and improperly displaying a temporary license plate permit.

The deputy asked Chavez to get out of the car. Chavez compiled but as he exited the vehicle he immediately fired about 15 rounds from a handgun at Herrera at point blank range, prosecutors said.

After the shooting, the couple then fled the scene after their car stalled. They were later found hiding in a shed and arrested in connection with Herrera's death.

Herrera was rushed to Del Sol Medical Center where he died two days later.

Key testimony in the trial was provided by Chavez who took the stand in his own defense. The gunman testified for more than seven hours Wednesday.

Chavez testified that he was angry when he fatally shot and beat Herrera after his girlfriend, Arlene Piña, claimed that the deputy had been harassing her. She allegedly is the one who handed the gun to Chavez during the traffic stop.

"Deputy Peter Herrera was a professional from the day he took the oath to the day of the shooting," Assistant District Attorney Michelle Hill said during closing statements Thursday. "His actions were admirable. His actions (during the traffic stop ) were unquestionable. He was acting to protect our community."

Shooter took responsibility for his actions

Chavez's attorney, Leonard Morales, said during his closing arguments that Chavez took the stand because he is taking responsibility for his actions.

"We are not insane," Morales told the jury. "We are not blind. We have no thoughts (that) Facundo Chavez is going to walk away from this."

Morales claimed Herrera knew who he was pulling over because the deputy was attempting to make Piña an informant for the Sheriff's Office. The motive for the traffic stop was to make it a drug bust against the people Herrera had previously run-in with rather than for traffic violations, Morales alleged.

Chavez is not hiding from what he did, his lawyer said. Along with Morales, attorneys Louis Lopez and Brock Benjamin are representing Chavez.

Courts: El Paso County sheriff's Deputy Peter Herrera's final words revealed at capital murder trial

"He took the stand and answered question after question," Morales said. "He didn’t hide. He gave honest answers."

State prosecutors said during the trial that the fatal shooting and beating of Herrera was a cold blooded, senseless slaying by Chavez. They argued the allegations of harassment made by defense lawyers and Chavez against Herrera were unfounded.

Due to the dark area when the traffic stop was conducted and a vehicle Herrera was unfamiliar with, Hill argued the deputy did not know who was in the vehicle when he pulled it over.

"There was no way, no way, Deputy Herrera knew who was in that vehicle," Hill said. "He did know there was a traffic violation."Herrera was just doing the job he loved when he was brutally shot, beaten and left to die in a pool of his own blood, Hill said.

More: Law enforcement officers recount harrowing moments during trial of fatal shooting of Deputy Herrera

Prosecutors: What jurors saw 'was capital murder'

Hill is trying the case with Assistant District Attorneys Will Dixon and Rick Locke.

Dixon replayed the video of the shooting to the jurors during his closing arguments.

"What you just saw was capital murder," Dixon said as he slammed his hands on a podium. "There is no excuse for what he (Chavez) did ... Deputy Peter Herrera was doing his job.

"The defendant ambushed him … (Chavez) denied having a weapon … he then ambushed him and shot him."

The video shows Chavez firing about 15 shots at Herrera before the gun jammed. Chavez then began beating the deputy with the gun. The sounds of the gun slamming against Herrera's head and his cries for help could be heard on the video.

"He wanted him dead so he started beating him with the gun," Dixon said as he again slammed his hands on the podium. "He wanted him dead."

Piña was originally charged with capital murder. However, the charge was reduced to manslaughter in a plea deal made with former El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales. Piña is serving a 15-year prison sentence.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man found guilty in shooting death of deputy Peter Herrera