tv WBTV News 3 at 11PM CBS March 19, 2016 11:00pm-11:35pm EDT
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try our new home-style flounder meal or double dozen shrimp. or our grilled menu, featuring new tuscan tilapia. each with two sides and hush puppies. for full meals starting at $4.99, it's gotta be d's. >> reporter: faced with with a mountain of confusing and contradictory evidence in the second gonzales murder trial, the jury again struggles to figure out what it all means. >> i couldn't come to a nclusion as to whether she was the floor or not. reporter: after just one y, worried prosecutors make a major concession. withdrawing the murder charge. giving the jury the option of voting for manslaughter. >> we were hoping that they were stuck between murder and
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murder off the table, it would signal to those dug in for murder that we would just want the conviction at this point. >> reporter: it doesn't work. the jurors stay stuck and that afternoon announce they, too, are deadlocked, again at ten to two, but this time ten to convict. >> i thought he was guilty. >> reporter: only two to acquit. >> i just didn't feel they could prove that she didn't attack him. >> reporter: a seemingly triumphant art gonzales heads home carrying his youngest son on his shoulders, perhaps underestimating prosecutor eric olson's determination. >> we felt the truth was coming out and in a third trial we could get a verdict. >> reporter: there will be a third trial. no chance of another hung jury because, this time, there is no jury. both sides agree to a bench trial with some camera access and with judge sara deniky who
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twice, deciding art's fate. >> so now we have a situation where the judge is literal through judge and jury. >> correct. >> reporter: meanwhile, art gonzales is free on bond and living with his sons in the very house with he shot his estranged wife. even with this reduced charge of manslaughter, he could still face ten years behind bars and that says friend dug meryl, is a scary prospect for a loving dad and his sons how do you think he's holding up? how is he feeling? >> it's amazing to me that he's even holding up at all. >> reporter: at his third trial derricks fence attorney mark gardner uses art's f.b.i. training to defend what happens. his witnesses say the reflex to react engrained in f.b.i. agents is what keeps them alive. >> what about the fact that art fired four shots?
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against an advancing attacker is very often insufficient to stop that attack. >> you want some coffee, marietta? >> reporter: julie's parents who have traveled across the country from new mexico three times for these trials aren't buying it. >> he's not taking accountability for what he does. >> he wants you to believe julie is responsible for her own death. >> it was very difficult to look at art when i got on the stand. >> reporter: f.b.i. agent janet johnson who worked with art in new mexico says art confided something to her before he moved to virginia. >> if i disvors her in new mexico, she gets 50% of everything i have. he said, that's not going to happen. i'm going to lure her to virginia and the laws are much more favorable to the man in virginia. >> reporter: art's attorney, mark gardner, says the physical
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day is the only evidence that counts, evidence like the gunshot residue. >> there was gunshot residue both on art's hands and on julie's hands. there was gunshot res due -- residue on the knife. all consistent with his claim that she attacked him, was in chloe proximity to him when the weapon was fired. >> reporter: prosecutors agree physical evidence is the key and hope the judge will grasp it better than the two hung jurisdid. they bring back their star witness. >> marcella s. fierro. >> reporter: the refound forensic pathologist who says julie was flat on the flor when at least one of the shots was fired. what makes her so sure? >> this bullet then exited the back partially. it exited and popped back in because it has a short exit.
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bullet dr. fierro is referring to. >> it means that the back was against something firm or hard. >> reporter: and that's something, prosecutors say, was the kitchen floor. but as in the previous two trials, the defense maintains the bra julie was wearing could have stopped that bullet. nonsense, says fierro. >> could a bra cause that? yes, but not the bra on this lady. >> reporter: she is unshakeable under crks. >> what would change your mind? a video. >> reporter: but defense forensic pathologist donald jason is just as sure. >> i believe it happens with bras like she was wearing. >> reporter: even more surprising is this witness who typically testifies for the prosecution. dr. jennifer bowers is a state
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>> do you believe the bra you saw on julie when she was brbrght to the medical examiner's office could have caused that shoring? >> it's possible, yes, sir. >> reporter: in his closing arguments, attorney gardner underscores the dilemma of dueling experts. >> i will go to my grave estioning how any forensic pathologist can say a .40 caliber bullet shot into julie's body into her back with enough force to exit the floor and cause shoring and there's no evidence the bullet struck the floor. lie charged at him, surprised m. looked up, put his arm up, shed her away, tried to create stance. e got her balance and mediately came right back at m. pulled his weapon and fired, actly like he's been trained do. i maintain that there is no real evidence to contradict art's
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that kitchen. >> reporter: but prosecutor olson says nothing art gonzales says can be trusted. >> it is not a coincidence that the track of mr. gonzales' relationship with kara cast is the track of the divorce. it was made right at the beginning of may is when he fell in love with kara cast, despite all his protestations to the contrary. what happens mid may after he's fallen in love with kara cast? he sees a divorce lawyer. in june he files for divorce. mr. gonzales lied repeatedly in this courtroom. he lied about when the romantic and sexual relationship started. he is manipulative and devious. >> two years after this once respected f.b.i. agent shot his
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should not be dead. >> reporter: the prosecution had flown in julie's new mexico friends to testify, and, after two hung juries and three trials, they are confident that this time justice will be served. >> and lea and i just grasped each other, and we thought "oh my god, it's finally done." >> there is no rational or reasonable explanation for what happened in that house on august 19. >> reporter: but judge sarah deneke seems in no hurry to deliver her decision. >> it was excruciating. i'd be lying if i didn't say that. >> reporter: for openers, the judge clearly doesn't believe art's story about trying to resuscitate julie after he shot her. >> the defendant reported performing c.p.r. on the victim, on julie, and i find that very doubtful given the evidence that i've heard here. >> reporter: but then, she pivots and begins dismantling the prosecution's case point by point.
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of cara kast. the court finds that the evidence of the relationship with this girlfriend is irrelevant to this finding. there was not one single piece of evidence that is relevant to motive or motivation. >> his girlfriend, what he considered the love of his life, he found out that she was going with someone else. that couldn't have played a part in his mind when... when he killed... julie. >> to her, it didn't matter. >> now, the evidence is that the bullet was somehow caught in the clothing. frankly, i find that weird. it's not significant in terms of making a determination as to whether or not this crime occurred or this killing occurred in self-defense. >> this is not relevant, that's not relevant. she went through a whole list of
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irrelevant. all of the things that happened to him that made him unstable, distraught, she said that didn't matter. >> reporter: nor do the dueling expert witnesses sway the judge. >> they do not vary on the facts. they all agree that there were four shots. >> reporter: what apparently does matter to the judge is the gunshot residue on julie gonzales' hands, which leads her to conclude that julie indeed may have attacked art gonzales. >> the gunpowder residue is consistent with the defendant's version of the victim holding the knife as he fired the weapon. there's no other explanation as to how she could have gunpowder residue on her hands. >> reporter: accepting that art's story could be true, she
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almost reluctant. i have no choice but to find the defendant not guilty of the crime of manslaughter. >> when she says those final words are not guilty, my heart sinks. you're just totally devastated. >> it was disbelief, shock. it was a miscarriage of justice. >> reporter: and it is more than prosecutor kristin bird can take. you were sobbing. >> i had heard the family gasp behind me at the end of the reading of the verdict, and it was hard to know that for a split second there they thought he was going to be found guilty. >> reporter: despite the outcome, prosecutor olsen defends trying gonzales three times. >> we believed strongly that he was culpable and guilty of the death of julie gonzales. we wouldn't have prosecuted the case if we had doubt.
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gonzales quickly exits the courthouse, his family shielding him from view. his sister, arlene, stood by him throughout the entire ordeal. >> it's a relief, and our family is very happy. i'm sorry. >> you seem overwhelmed with emotion. >> i am very overwhelmed right now. thank you, god. >> reporter: art showed up uninvited when we talked with his lawyer. he didn't want to join the interview, but he kept his ear to the door for the entire time. in the end, art gonzales would only talk about his reaction to the verdict. >> i'm sorry, do you mind if i... for a second, miss spencer. what i'm kind of hearing through the door and stuff. but what did the prosecutor allege i did right after the verdict was read? >> reporter: nothing. i didn't... nothing. >> oh. >> reporter: no, i asked. i said i couldn't see. i said i was sitting behind you,
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and i asked what your reaction was. >> i looked up, and i thanked god. without god and the people he's put in my life, there's no way i could've made it. >> reporter: you can come say that to me. >> i will, in time. >> reporter: well, how about now? >> no, because i have to take my son to soccer practice. >> reporter: art gonzales never did sit down with us. now a single parent, he's says he's stretched thin. plus, the f.b.i. fired him for what it said was his "lack of candor" during the murder investigation. >> his life has been in limbo since this happened. he's been without work. he's been unemployable, essentially lost all of his assets. his house is up for sale. >> reporter: but you'll find little sympathy for art gonzales in julie's hometown of socorro, new mexico. >> not in my worst nightmare did i ever think that we would be
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this. >> reporter: her parents can only take comfort in their faith and their memories. what will you miss most about her? >> her gentleness, her good nature, her wittiness. >> reporter: once very close to their grandsons, julie's parents say they hardly get to see them now. >> we lived for our grandchildren, and i was their teddy bear. what more can i say? we love them, and we'll always love them. >> reporter: through three trials, they believed in their hearts that the f.b.i. agent who killed their daughter would go to prison for it. now, they believe something else entirely. >> art gonzales is guilty of murder, and he got away with it.
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network from cbs news. hi, guys! spring is almost here and you know what that means! easter is hopping along. so, if you're looking to stretch your dollar this easter holiday, just look at these savings at your local walmart. charlotte, in head-to-head shopping, the total amount saved at walmart vs. bi-lo was $15.47... that's 11% on this week's easter basket. why shop anywhere else? fill your basket with walmart's every day low prices and get big savings. start shopping with walmart's every day low prices today. and see what you could save. a car destroys a home in southeast charlotte. we have new video into our newsroom tonight. you can see the pictures of this house scattered just across the yard. and police are investigating two homicides tonight.
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the second one in west charlotte. and the chance for showers. possibly some snowshowers in the area tonight. meteorologist lee is tracking your forecast. thank you for joining us tonight. it was a violent saturday in charlotte. two men are dead. the first shooting happened before 11:00 this morning in the 4900 block of central avenue. east charlotte, the other in west charlotte, in the 1700 block of donald ross road. our reporter has been keeping track of both shoots and joins us live and how is the community reacting? >> reporter: well, steve, i spoke with a neighbor who lives close to the scene of the west charlotte shooting. he can't imagine what either of the victims' families are going through right now and the violence needs to stop. >> sad.
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near the scene of the shooting that killed davis on saturday. he isn't related to the victim. in fact he doesn't know anyone in the family. but he can't help be emotional as he watched the family mourn of death of a loved one. >> i don't know what to say. a young man laying over there and hast his life lost his life for nothing. >> reporter: that was the second shooting death of the day. the first one happened in east charlotte killing jeffrey johnson. >> i'm used to seeing it. it's sad. too many young people out here dying. >> reporter: both shootings are still under investigation. detectives don't believe they are connected to each other. with the shooters still on the one, the police are asking r the public for help. >> it's a busy intersection. we're hoping someone saw something that could lead to a tip to solve this case. >> reporter: nixon said the violence needs to stop. people who are about to commit a crime need to picture themselves in the victims' families situations.
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watch this. ing this. i don't know what it's like to lose a family member. that's way was thinking about. i have one sister and three other brothers. >> reporter: again, police are asking for your help for both shootings. if you know anything about any incident call crimestoppers. back to you. >> thanks. just into, a violent criminal wanted by the mecklenburg police department wanted for attempted first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon. he cut off his electronic monitor and was was last known to be in the area of university boulevard. if you have information, call police. dramatic video into the newsroom, a house destroyed after a car slams into it. it happened just before 7:00 tonight in the 7000 block of brighton brook drive. the driver of the vehicle has
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two adults and three children live in that home. it's up clear if they were there at the time. rain and snow in some areas. once you get a lits of the forecast here and lee, kind of -- you get a list of the forecast and lee, it's kind of interesting. >> we hit 80. four times. tomorrow we'll be much chillier. >> much chillier. we'll leave it at that for now. >> okay. >> we have rain moving into the picture as we speak. you can can see it over the charlotte area, also stretching down. here's the charlotte area. upup to, you have rain. here's 485. you have the heaviest batch to
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north of mint hill. 85, 77 if you are heading through charlotte, you are likely to run into the light shower. another batch -- actually, a line has formed to the south. you can see it stretching to new salem, down to the -- off to the east. allens cross roads antonville and saps, this is moving to the east at about 25, 30 miles per hour. so moving fairly quickly. fortunately, no lightning associated with it right now. but some good heavy rain right as that batch moves through. we also have something else to talk about. this is not in effect tonight. this is sunday night into monday morning. we have a freeze watch. that's in effect for all of these counties you see, the foothills stretching into the piedmont. you could have temperatures at or below the freezing mark. the highest elevations, you will be cold but you don't have a freeze watch. here's what it looks look.
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clark toyota camera. you can see the pavement. it's wet because of the rain that's falling. that will be moving out of here but heading into your day tomorrow we could see more rain, even snowshowers in the highest elevations. temperatures through the evening hours go from the mid-40s and stay in the mid-40s throughout the entire night but we have 30 for low, 50s for highs. we'll talk about when and when there's finally another warmup in a little bit. >> and you can stay up to date with your forecast forecast by downloading our free weather app. support tonight for a opportunity staying departiation and -- student facing deportation. they gathered for a march ending at the charlotte mecklenburg center. student, educators and family ofsies of those who face deportation stand with them.
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and he wasn't, i have to face education, i get have all of these opportunities and he doesn't. he's in a detention center with 60 other men. >> and she says will not not not stop demonstrating her friend is back with her. this is going to younger men thinking seriousby about a vocation, the opportunity to get their college degree but also at the same time live with other men considering the same thing and form themselves spiritually.
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seminary will be on st. ann church but there are plans to build a permanent facility. coming up, we're keeping an eye on the weather. we're breaking down your full forecast right after the break. keep it here. i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go.
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monday is world down syndrome day k thousands came out for the 5-k today. the annual event hosted by the down syndrome association of greater charlotte is for research and advancements. but what makes this event so special, you can run the 5-k which is 3.1 miles and there's another special finish. >> then you run an extra point 11 which we call the dash and you run 3.21 miles to celebrate the extra chromosome in down syndrome. >> first event in 2013. the, that organization has raised $100,000 and helped 3,000 people across the country. the city kicked off one of its many health nev tis. the run was part of discoverying a healthy ran. there are eight runs and walks planned for this year. the first one took place today. if you missed it, there will be
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the way to december 17th. here's that list of events that you can catch that will be lasting throughout the year. people lined the streets of uptown charlotte for today's 2016 st. patrick's day parade. it pass wart of was part of the charlotte goes green festival with 12,000 attendees. the irish ambassador of the united states was the grand marshal. she said it's actually her first time being a grand marshal. >> but there's so many irish people, particularly young people in the city and they are everything in the tech sector and i connect with them and visit companies who are doing business but apart from that, that's the -- that's the more serious sides, just trolling around this city is a pleasure.
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