San Antonio police officers and a detective told jurors on Nov. 5 that a 911 call reporting a disturbance involving a gun prompted response, evidence collection and an investigative decision to forward the case to prosecutors.

Officer Jordan Hernandez testified he was dispatched to 3415 Edgeview on Nov. 5 for a reported disturbance involving a gun. Hernandez said Detective Jacobs and Officer Sosa were on scene when he arrived and that he contacted the complainant, Anthony Rodriguez, by phone and then met him at a nearby park to take a statement. Hernandez confirmed his body-worn camera was active during the response and that the recordings accurately reflected his observations.

Detective Justin Carrion of the San Antonio Police Department's Special Victims Unit testified the case was assigned to SVU as a hot case and that, after interviewing both parties and reviewing officers' reports and crime-scene photographs, he concluded there was sufficient probable cause to make an arrest. "There was enough probable cause to make the arrest," Carrion testified on the record. He said the investigative packet — including photographs of the kitchen area and weapons — was submitted to the district attorney for charging review.

The court admitted multiple photographic exhibits and physical items for the record. The state offered, and the court received without objection, State's Exhibits 35 (knife image) and 38–45 (photographs of the defendant and scene). The defense also entered and the court admitted defense exhibits 3–10 showing multiple views of the kitchen island, knife drawer and the cabinet above the refrigerator where the firearm was kept.

During the day's proceedings the court addressed the admissibility of a recorded interview of the defendant (published to the jury as State's Exhibit 37A). After reviewing the recording, the judge ruled that the defendant's statements up to 5 minutes, 58 seconds of that recording were admissible but that statements after that time were taken during custodial interrogation and should have been Mirandized; the court excluded the portions after the 5:58 mark from the jury.

Detectives and officers described evidence collection at the residence — photograph documentation and cataloging of a purple kitchen knife from an island drawer, a broom used during the altercation, and a 9mm handgun stored above the refrigerator. Officer Hernandez testified the photographic record and body-worn camera footage were accurate. Carrion explained the standard SVU process for hot cases: review of officer reports, interviewing involved parties, assessing probable cause and forwarding an evidence packet to prosecutors for charging.

The evidentiary record developed at today's hearing will form the basis of competing narratives the prosecution and defense will present in closing arguments. The judge's ruling limiting parts of the defendant's recorded interview narrowed what jurors will hear from that recording as they assess credibility and intent.