Garland Shooting Trial Begins, Father of Murder Accused Faces Death Penalty

GARLAND, Texas – Three teenagers were shot and killed in a Garland store on December 26, 2021. On Tuesday, the trial began in the case of the murder of the father of the accused in the shooting.

Investigators believe that Richard Acosta pushed his 14-year-old son, Abel Acosta, to commit the murders, and they claim he knew this would happen.

“It takes him nine seconds to fire 20 shots. He shoots and kills these three children and wounds another. All the while this defendant has his foot on the brake, his truck is waiting in motion. Actions speak louder than words,” he said. accusation in opening statements.

Xavier Gonzalez, 14, Rafael Garcia, 17, and Ivan Noyala, 16, were killed in the shootout.

Prosecutors believe Richard knew his son was planning the shooting.

Evidence shows that Richard’s truck’s brake lights were on while waiting. The prosecutor’s office believes that this is a sign that the father was ready to leave.

“Before the door closes, this defendant is leaving,” the prosecution said.

The defense argued that Richard Acosta had no idea what would happen on the night of the shooting.

They claimed that Richard wanted to go home to watch the Cowboys play and that he thought he was giving Abel a ride to talk to one of the boys about the necklace.

“When he hears shots, he immediately ducks down. He has no time to worry about his son, he worries about himself. He does not know where they are shooting from, he does not know who is shooting. he knows he hears gunshots. He bends down, ”the defense said in the opening remarks.

They then claim that Abel jumped into the car and told his father that he was being shot at, so he drove off.

“All he knows is that he heard the shots and is trying to get out of there,” the defense said.

When Abel returned to the truck, defense attorney Heath Harris said that Richard drove to their home in Garland and stated that this was the last time he saw his son.

Abel goes upstairs to their house in Garland. Their room is downstairs,” the lawyer said.

Harris told jurors that Abel was known to have fled.

The prosecution believes that Richard helped his son escape, possibly to Mexico.

Through an interpreter, Uncle Ivan, who was waiting in the parking lot, testified that he had found his nephew lying in a pool of blood.

“I talked to him and told him, ‘Don’t die,'” he said.

Security camera video shown in court showed that all three victims were inside the store prior to the fatal shooting, waiting for their food near the counter.

It also shows Richard walking in and buying Tylenol for his wife. He returned to the street and got into his truck where he talked to his son.

Shortly thereafter, prosecutors said, Abel exited the truck and made his way to the store’s main entrance, killing all three. Most of the video was shown in court, but it is too graphic to be shown on television.

It was believed that Xavier, who was collecting food for his family, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The first officer at the scene said that Xavier had a pulse when he started CPR, but he collapsed. He continued to assist the injured employee.

“I’m starting to hear screaming and crying and all that stuff,” Garland Police Officer Brian Velasquez said.

Investigators believe that Abel was stalking Rafael and Ivan for a previous gun incident.

Xavier’s uncle, Rafael Gonzalez, testified to the character of his nephew. He says some family members couldn’t stomach what they saw on the video.

“This is something that only someone who has no heart can do – this is a cold-blooded killer. Because it’s one thing to shoot someone from a distance. behind,” he said. “They left the courtroom in tears because they couldn’t watch it.”

A few days after the shooting, Abel disappeared. His father is an accused getaway driver. Richard converted the day after the murder.

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Back in December Garland PD Det. Lucas Shoop told FOX 4 that he thought the evidence would show that Richard knew his son was going to kill the teenagers.

“He didn’t cooperate because he asked for a lawyer and said he didn’t want to talk to us,” Shupe said.

It is unclear if there is evidence that Richard knows where his son is.

The trial will resume on Wednesday.

According to his lawyer, Richard is due to testify this week.