Witness testifies defendant told her to shoot during doorway dispute

A witness in a Bexar County trial testified on the stand that she fired a gun after the defendant pointed a weapon at her and ordered her to shoot during a dispute over money.

During direct examination the witness, who identified herself in court as Adi Hernandez Rivas, said she had been working for Marco Moreno Vasquez, lived briefly on his property, and on Feb. 16, 2023 went with him and his wife to confront a man who owed Moreno Vasquez money. She testified the defendant knocked on the man's door, the two men argued and then a fistfight started. The witness said the man produced what she thought was a tool or screwdriver and that Marco pulled out a gun and shot.

"He pulled out his gun, and he shot," the witness said, and later testified that after Marco fired he "pointed his gun at me and told me to shoot." The witness said she then fired; she told the court she did not recall the exact number of rounds but believed she fired two or three times and later fired into the air.

On cross-examination, defense attorney David A. Garcia challenged the witness's credibility and focused on differences between her courtroom testimony and earlier statements to detectives. Garcia repeatedly asked whether she had lied in interviews; the witness admitted she had lied at least once about whether Marco's wife was present when detectives first questioned her. Garcia also pressed the witness about whether she had told detectives she fired into the air and whether she had been coerced or was seeking a benefit in exchange for testimony. The witness acknowledged she had entered a plea agreement with a 5-to-35-year cap and that she had previously given detectives an account that omitted some details.

The prosecution used photographs and surveillance stills during direct examination to locate where the argument and fight occurred and to show the sequence of events offered by the witness. The witness testified she gave a statement to police after being arrested and that some details had changed between that interview and her trial testimony.

The testimony concluded for the morning with the court calling a brief recess. The judge later scheduled the case to resume Monday at 1:30 p.m. with the state's other witnesses and admitted exhibits to be considered in front of the jury.