Right now, a jury of 7 men and 5 women are deliberating on the fate of 25 year-old Paul Jex who has been on remand since May 2010, for murder of the well-known Aubrey Lopez, the 30 year-old basketball superstar, E. P. Yorke teacher, and son of Belmopan Mayor Simeon Lopez, which happened 3 years and 9 months ago.
Jex has been standing trial for murder before Justice Adolph Lucas, and after 3 weeks of witness testimony, the case is over. It's in the hands of the jury which went to deliberate at a few minute after 4 o'clock this evening. They are expected to deliberate for at least 3 hours, by which time, they will be able to deliver a verdict if it is unanimous. It is not, they will have to deliberate for a 4th hour, and in all that time, they will discuss the evidence from 14 prosecution's witnesses that Crown Counsel Kayshia Grant has put before the court.
Just after the jury went into the deliberation room, 7News spoke with Nigel Petillo, a long-time friend of Aubrey Lopez who has been closely following the case. He told us that finally after almost 4 years, he and the Lopez family will start to work toward closure after the end of this case. Here's how he explained it:
Nigel Petillo - Friend of Aubrey Lopez
"I knew Aubrey all my life. We grew up as brothers. Aubrey is our local superstar in Belmopan, and nevertheless, Aubrey's memories live on, and we have a lot of things in Belmopan that almost every corner where you turn, his memory is in Belmopan."
Daniel Ortiz
"How many years has it been since incident took place to this day where case is about to complete?"
Nigel Petillo
"This year should make 4 years. It was just around Mother's Day as well, a sad time for something like that to happen. However, we feel good that finally we're much closer to getting closure on this case. We're much closer to getting an idea of what really took place, because a lot of the story, we haven't really gotten the right details. But, during the process, we've got the opportunity to hear different statements and so forth. Today, we're supposed to get a better understanding hopefully, you want to believe that we have our facts together. We've dotted our 'i' and crossed our 't', so the family is here, and we're hoping that today we can get something about this and continue with our lives."
Cecily Cambranes-Burgess - KREM News
"How is it for you all having to re-live going through the trial, the statements today that the judge is giving, just as a re-run of what has taken place? Can you give us an idea of what it's like to have to relive it so often and so vividly?"
Nigel Petillo
"To just wrap that up in a nutshell, an innocent member of our society has lost his life, for no apparent reason. So, going through, listening to the statements and that stuff, all that's going through my mind is that, 'If you took another lane, or another curve, you could have still been here with us.' So, yes, it's a lot of flashbacks, but I'll be honest. I try to think about the positive parts. I am in the court room thinking about the positive things Aubrey and I have been through, and sometimes, a smile might come to my face. That's because I remember the things that my brother and I had been doing. So, while Belmopan City, his loved ones, his family, E. P. Yorke students, I want to remind you all about the positive times you had with him, and try to continue from that place. Whatever you think about Aubrey, think about the big smile he had, and the joke he was giving at the moment."
Key components of the case that the jury will consider are first that the written testimony of an eyewitness which ties Jex to the crime has been admitted into evidence. The statement outlines that after Lopez left a high school function that he was socializing on the night of May 12, 2010, a group of men took over his light blue Altima car and later shot him once in the back of the head and threw him out of his vehicle leaving him to die on Prince Street. That statement had to be tested because the main witness took the stand and told the court, while in tears, that he will not testify for fear of his life. He told the court that he was threatened. He said, "They told me they will kill me if I testify."
In his defense, Jex, who was being represented by attorney Tricia Pitts-Anderson, gave a dock statement denying that he ever committed any murder. He claims that on the night in question, he was at the corner of Neal's Penn Road and Central American Boulevard when a car drove past. He said that he got a ride in that vehicle. This defense evidence is important because according to the prosecution's case, police spotted the car on Raccoon Street, and that's when a high-speed chase took place. It ended in the vicinity of West Collet Canal where Jex was found inside the car – which had been stolen from Lopez - with a.357 magnum revolver, which was admitted as evidence. The main eyewitness was outside the car, and he told the court that he has been threatened, and he was even shot at once in an effort to try to dissuade him from assisting the prosecution.
Of note also is that Mayor Simeon Lopez and his wife have been present at every single day of Jex's trial. Whenever the verdict is in, we'll tell you what it is.
