Four years after trooper Moises Sanchez died, a jury is now deliberating his killer’s fate
EDINBURG — The 16th day of Victor Godinez’s death penalty trial saw attorneys representing both sides give closing arguments to a courtroom filled to capacity with family members of the 29-year-old defendant and family members of Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Moises Sanchez.
Each side was allowed 45 minutes to argue for or against the death penalty for Godinez, who was found guilty of killing Sanchez and two counts of attempted capital murder.
“What is justice for the family of a fallen officer?” prosecutor Vance Gonzales asked the jury during his 17-minute closing statement.
Gonzales described Godinez as a danger to society who had specific intent to kill a police officer and who was proud to have done so — as evident by his prison nickname, “Trooper.” He referred to Godinez’s disciplinary records from prison, particularly incidents that included threatening a guard.
He asked the jury to consider how Godinez’s actions have impacted Sanchez’s family, as well as Edinburg Police Department Investigators Sandra Tapia and Jesse Moreno — who were involved with a shootout with Godinez — as well as the community as a whole.
Defense attorney O. Rene Flores told the jury that even though he disagreed with their guilty verdicts, he respected their decisions and hoped that the jurors would abide by their oaths to be fair and impartial.
He asked that they make their decision based on the facts and evidence presented in the court and not their emotions.
Flores attempted to depict Godinez as an individual with no criminal history whose abhorrent behavior was the result of alcohol. He went through his juvenile record and closely examined each of his recorded prison incidents, which he said did not indicate that his client was a continued threat to society.
As he addressed the court, he showed pictures of Godinez with his family.
“Let him live out his days,” he said before concluding his closing argument.
With 28 minutes left, lead prosecutor Joseph Orendain argued that Godinez’s decision to shoot Sanchez should be enough to consider the defendant a future danger to society. He said that his shootout with Tapia and Moreno hours later was further proof.
“What he did on April 6, 2019 deserves justice,” Orendain said.
With both sides finished arguing, the jury has now begun deliberating and will decide whether Godinez should receive the death penalty or be sentenced to life in prison without parole.