Flores Guilty Of Murder For Punch That Led To Man’s Death

By Brittney Booth, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

Mar. 28–EDINBURG — Christopher Flores was convicted of murder Monday for the fatal punch he threw at a man in bar fight last March.

A jury found Flores, 21, guilty of murdering Audon Camarillo after punching him in the face at Ted’s Lounge in San Juan on March 25, 2005. Camarillo, 47, fell backward and struck his head, leaving him comatose. He died eight days later.

Flores’ trial began Wednesday before Judge Letty Lopez in 389th state District Court. Opening arguments for the trial’s sentencing phase will begin at 10 a.m. today. Flores faces up to 99 years in prison for the first-degree felony.

In his closing arguments to the jury, Assistant District Attorney Jason Honeycutt said Texas law allows someone to be charged with murder if they intend to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that results in death.

Flores punched Camarillo because Camarillo owed Flores’ friend Jesus Moreno $500 in drug money, prosecutors said. According to toxicology reports, Camarillo was drunk and had been using cocaine that night. He got into an argument with Moreno at the bar about the money, Honeycutt said.

When the argument got heated, Flores lost his temper, ran toward Camarillo and “sucker-punched” him in the left side of the face, Honeycutt said.

“(Flores) wanted to put (Camarillo) down. He wanted to hurt him as hard as he could,” he said. “We know he intended to cause serious bodily injury by his actions.”

Honeycutt told jurors to imagine Camarillo falling, his head hitting the hard concrete floor.

Flores “knew Audon was high intoxicated, high on cocaine and not going to pay the drug money. (This was) a crushing blow to the face, knocking him out instantly and killing him,” he said.

But Flores’ defense attorney Rey Merino argued that prosecutors did not prove all the elements of murder beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by law.

He told jurors that the prosecution’s key witness, Benito Vasquez, who saw Flores punch Camarillo, had testified that didn’t think Flores was trying to hurt Camarillo.

Merino accused the prosecutor of trying to lead witnesses, and questioned the fairness of the investigation. He asked the jury to consider whether the San Juan Police officers pursued all the leads.

Camarillo did not have bruises on his face to indicate he had been punched, yet there were other bruises on his body that were not explained, Merino said.

Sympathy for the Camarillo family’s loss doesn’t justify convicting the wrong person. The defendant does not have to produce any evidence of his innocence, Merino said.

“Don’t find him guilty because you want to solve the mystery,” he said.

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Brittney Booth covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4437.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

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