SAN ANTONIO — On Oct. 4, 2020, two teens allegedly drove along Bald Mountain Drive in Bexar County and fired repeatedly into a home. Officials with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said they had a particular target in mind, but shot the wrong residence.
In the house next door, however, authorities say a different group of three teens returned fire towards the vehicle before it sped off. The shooting left more than 100 bullet casings in the street.
The incident left one woman, 25-year-old Novita Brazil, dead after she was shot while working on her computer. Another woman, an Airbnb guest, was injured.
On Thursday, one of the teens allegedly in that car, a ninth grader, walked into 436th District Court at the Bexar County Juvenile District Center. Judge William Shaw was already in the room.
Bexar County prosecutors wanted the teen to be tried as an adult, and Assistant Criminal District Attorney Ellen Walter was ready to go. Defense Attorney Neil Calfas, however, was not.
Calfas needed to prove that his defendant was not "mature and sophisticated" and therefore could not be tried as an adult. The defense was working with John Matthew Fabian, a forensic and clinical psychologist, to conduct a report and present his own findings to the court.
The report wasn't ready yet.
"To deny our motion of continuance would deny (my client) due process," Calfas said.
Walter argued there was already a court-ordered expert that the defense chose not to cooperate with.
Judge Shaw said the case had already been delayed after three previous settings and the current hearing, called a certification hearing or transfer hearing, would begin regardless.
The evidence was not disputed in Thursday's hearing. Detective Jesse Arias, who investigated the scene of the shooting afterwards, described walking onto the scene.
"There was a lot of casings everywhere. I had never seen so many casings," Arias said. "This was a lot of gunfire and I could see damage throughout the whole street and to the house. It looked like Swiss cheese. It was just holes everywhere."
Judge Shaw also reviewed video from a Ring camera that captured the shooting. In one instance, audio from that video indicated constant gunfire for more than 10 seconds.
Arias also said the teens were using a stolen vehicle and led deputies and police officers on a chase that exceeded 100 mph.
The prosecution called the probation officer to the witness stand. The probation officer told the court the juvenile system could not, in her opinion, rehabilitate the teen, adding he could be a danger to others.
Calfas was hoping to prove that his ninth grade client was performing at a fourth grade level in school and may have disabilities. Despite Calfas repeatedly questioning the teen's academic performance, the probation officer wouldn't state the teen was a consistent special-education student.
"He is special-ed or has special needs, and that's the reason why I need an expert," Shaw said.
Once the prosecution was finished calling witnesses, the defense again asked to put the hearing on hold until they could receive a report from Fabian. Judge Shaw eventually allowed the hearing to be continued at another time.
Shaw said he expects to receive the report by April 27.