SAN ANTONIO — The trial of former SAPD officers Thomas Villarreal and Carlos Castro continued Tuesday, bringing continued arguments over what happened when the duo entered the plaintiff's home after following him for traffic violations in 2020
The officers are accused of aggravated assault by a public servant after following Eric Wilson to his house in January of 2020, kicking in his door and punching him around 20 times. The defense maintains that Wilson was pulled over for speeding and failing to use a blinker. Police drove up on Wilson when he was in his driveway and told him to stop as he got in the car.
He instead quickly walked into his house, and officers ran to engage him.
Wilson already served time in prison for murder and intoxication assault. He was still on federal probation and had been out of prison for three years at the time police attempted to arrest him.
The defense argued Tuesday he was evading arrest during the incident and officers had a right to follow him. Attorneys for Villarreal and Castro attacked Wilson's initial statements about what exactly transpired after he entered his home; Wilson previous said on Friday he wasn't aware that he was detained or under arrest at the time.
Police later showed body camera video where officers repeatedly yelled "Stop!" and "Show me your hands!" when he got in the car.
Wilson had also said on Friday that he was already getting on the ground as police came into the house.
"They run in and say, 'Get down, get down.' So when I get down, I start getting punched in the face." Wilson said. "I was going down to the floor and I was pulled the rest of the way."
Video shown on Friday and Tuesday showed that Wilson was standing upright behind the door when officers entered and officers then pulled him to the floor.
Prosecutor Daryl Harris also asked Wilson Friday: "Do you recall anyone yelling 'show me your hands.'"
"No," Wilson responded.
Body camera video shows officers yelling, "Show me your f*****g hands" four times after they took Wilson to the floor in the home.
The video also shows both Castro and Villarreal punching Wilson multiple times, as well as Castro stabilizing himself with his foot against a nearby wall while delivering the blows. Blood can be seen splattering on the floor.
In one section of the video, Villarreal appears to try and push Castro, his fellow officer, off of Wilson. But he is unsuccessful. The officers struck Wilson for around 34 seconds, according to the video.
But Wilson told the court Friday the beating lasted "five to 10 minutes."
Prosecutors on Tuesday swore in Wilson's father, Eddie Wilson Sr., but he did not take the stand. Wilson Sr. told investigators previously that his son had gotten down on the floor before officers started beating him. He also said in a taped interview, "I was right there...I seen it."
Body camera video later showed Wilson Sr. wasn't in the room when police took his son to the ground, but instead showed up later after the punches had stopped.