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Iaw Bartender*hot to Death9an TestifieszcalClt;HucNCiGoiCircy JOLINE DAFFERA state witness Monday 'ies-that he saw David Ta-pia, accused of murder, take a pistol out of his pocket, cock it, aim, and shoot Tony Prado Chapa, a bartender at the Elbow Room Bar, 210Second SW.Tapia is accused of second degree murder in the Oct. 7, 1965, shooting death of Chapa,24, of 3516 Camino Alameda SW.Dist. Judge John B. McManus is presiding at the trial being heard by a jury of seven men and five women. The trial will resume Wednesday at 9 a.m. i MTapia originally was blt; charged with first degree murder, but the charge was reduced at his preliminary hearing and that decision was upheld by Judge McManus lastjH December.Sits Next to Him ‘ Michael Dawson, 21, of 300|p Second SW, said he was in the bar at the time of the shooting. He said Tapia came in and sat next to him at thesiHsisi03alt;cilcCitl ntibar. laIn a demonstration staged by Asst. Dist. Atty. Jacklti Love, for the benefit of the’tl jury, Dawson played the partof Tania and Love acted asChapa. Dawson, re-enacting the shooting, stood facing Ijove's side, pulled a pistol out of his right trouser pocket,rocked it. aimed it at Love’s1head, and pulled the trigger.' He said that is how the defendant, whom he identified in court, shot Chapa.Under further questioning by Love, Dawson said he did not hear Chapa call Tapia a R wino” or hear curse words,d between the two.He said he did not see«•tlnChapa with a weapon.Under cross-examination byjrsdefense attorney Lorenzo Tapia (no relation to the de- h fendant), Duwson said Tapia’s eyes “looked dull, glassy and a puffy” w’hen he entered the * bar. He also said the de- fi fendant seemed “high.”Dawson also told the court ^ he saw Tapia try to shake hands with the deceased three times before the shooting, |h and that Chapa “ignored jtTapia. fMr* Tonv Atler. 36. of 1309 .Roma NE, wife of the bar owner, also identified Tapia incourt as the man who did theshooting. She said he came ^ into the bar wnth a womanSI .named Celia Sandoval and ordered beer.Hears a BangMrs. Atler said she heard a “loud bang,” and that she ’ saw Tapia run from the bar v with a gun. She said she then’, saw Chapa on the floor. fMrs. Atler said she heard ,no argument between Tapia j and Chapa before the shooting . JjWilliam Figg, a merchant , policeman on duty at the bar|f the day of the shooting, de-scribed an argument between v Chapa and Tapia about 10 t days before the shooting. He said he told them to “knock it off.”‘Just Glares’ I“Tapia just glared for ( about five minutes and Chapa , went back behind the bar, ( Figg testified. ,Under cross-examination by J defense attorney Charles Dris-j coll, Figg said he had not seen anyone beaten up in the two years he has worked at the bar. He said persons causing disturbances were“ejected.”Other witnesses Monday included several police officers who testified as to their investigations of the shooting.and a Federal Bureau of Investigations weapons expertfrom Arlington, Va.Dr. Norman Pond, pathologist, said Chapa died of a wound in the lower part of the head.
Newspaper Details
Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Tue, Mar 01, 1966
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
Greg P.
AU 21 Jun 2023
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