A jury in Bexar County District Court heard opening statements and the first witness testimony on the state's case against Angel Miguel Cepeda on charges that include aggravated kidnapping and related offenses.

The state told jurors the complainant, identified in court as Rubiela Contreras Perez, will describe how she and the defendant met while working at the same barbershop and how a May 2024 encounter escalated into what the prosecutor called an ''''assault''' and abduction.' In opening remarks, the prosecutor said Jurors ''''you are gonna hear''' from Contreras Perez about '''all of the hell he put her through.'

Contreras Perez testified through an interpreter that on the night she described to police she was working alone at the barbershop when the defendant entered, locked the door, and became aggressive. She told the jury he struck her, kicked her and later forced her into a car at knifepoint, taking her to his apartment. She testified that during the night he held a blade to her neck and threatened, '''do you want your son to be an orphan?' and that she felt she had no choice but to go with him. She testified she sustained bruises and bleeding and later provided photographs of injuries to detectives.

The prosecutor described the alleged sequence at trial as including confinement, the use of a razor or pocket knife and further violence while the complainant was held. The state told jurors it would present officer testimony and the complainant's statements and ask them to return a guilty verdict.

Defense counsel urged jurors to listen critically. In opening, defense counsel said the case rests on a disputed story and argued the state would not produce the kind of detailed investigation the jury might expect.

The judge instructed jurors on how to rely on interpreter translations and on courtroom evidence. The state called the complainant as its first witness; the court recessed the panel after several hours of testimony and set the trial to continue the following day.

No verdict has been returned. The trial record will include the complainant's testimony, photographs admitted into evidence and the parties' planned witnesses and exhibits.