Tobar Trial June 12, 2008

 

TOBAR NOT GUILTY

ON ALL THREE COUNTS

Commissioner Alfredo Tobar was found NOT GUILTY for two counts of obstruction and one count of unlawful restraint by a Pecos County Jury of 11 men and one woman.

Read more about the trial in the June 18 edition of The Ozona Stockman

CLOSING ARGUMENTS

Steve Smith, assistant district attorney –

“Lyndsie Crawford and Nick Perez could not trust Alfredo Tobar to do the right thing,” Smith said.

Smith said Tobar’s crime began when he didn’t turn right at the intersection in Ozona to take the victims to the emergency room.

“You know Mr. Tobar lies. He’s been lying to everybody,” Smith said to the jury. “The adults should have done something.”

Lisa Tobar allowed a party to happen with alcohol involved and didn’t check on the teenagers, just looked out the window, while

Alfredo Tobar didn’t stop the teenagers from leaving house with beer in their hands, Smith said.

At the accident scene, the first phone call that was made was to the Perez house by Lyndsie because she wanted help for Nick, her main concern during the whole evening, Smith said.

Tobar said he told the victims they needed to go to the hospital.

“Does that make sense, when he said he didn’t check out injuries? He’s lying to you,” Smith said to the jury. “He (Tobar) could have gone to the Perez house and let Nick’s parents take them. He rolled over and let the kids get him in trouble. He blames the kids when he could have made choices.”

Smith said Tobar didn’t call 9-1-1, didn’t tell DPS Trooper Rito Renteria where they were going and didn’t call 9-1-1 on the way into Ozona.

“He (Tobar) has a motive. He will do anything for his real son. He sought to prevent an investigation of an accident where people were injured,” Smith said.

Tobar and his wife Lisa Tobar both testified that they don’t allow alcohol inside their house. However, Lisa Tobar said her husband collects wine and she has a bottle of vodka in her bedroom. 

Alfredo Tobar Jr. passed out drunk from his birthday party that night, and T.J. Tobar passed out after the accident.

“His kids do drink. Maybe Mr. Tobar doesn’t but everybody else seems to,” Smith said.

Smith said Tobar manipulated Nick and Lyndsie from the moment he heard anything about the accident.

“This man is not honest. He denied them medical treatment for the good of his son,” Smith said.

J.W. Johnson, attorney for Alfredo Tobar –
 

“This has been a pretty sad experience for Mr. Tobar and his family,” Johnson said at the beginning of his closing argument. “He had kids that he cared about very much make allegations against him.”

For two years, Tobar and his family have personally undergone the suffering of their reputation, their family, their business and dignity, Johnson said.

“This is the first time he has been able to come and tell his side of the story,” Johnson said.

Texas Ranger Brooks Long is not due any compliments for his investigation, Johnson said. If Long had been fair and objective, he would have taken statements from all the witnesses that were heard in the trial and would have taken Tobar’s statement to be presented to the grand jury, Johnson said.

Long did his investigation purposely and deliberately, and Tobar was not privileged to give his defense to the grand jury, Johnson said.

“What this case boils down to is if Mr. Tobar restrained Lyndsie Crawford and Nick Perez from going to the hospital,” he said.

Dr. Marcus Sims really only testified as to what could have happened to Nick, Johnson said.

The two teenagers were only at the Tobar house for 15 minutes, which was not out of line or exposed them to any substantial risk to anything.

“Whose really to blame for the accident? The kids made lots of bad decisions that night,” Johnson said. “The kids didn’t call 9-1-1. Lyndsie had a cell phone and the ability in her hands that night.”

Johnson said Tobar didn’t hesitate in picking up the victims. He also said that the reason the teenagers don’t want to go to the hospital is because they all know they will get in trouble at the hospital.

The fairness of DPS Trooper Michael Johnson was question because T.J. Tobar was arrested for driving while intoxicated and Rocky Munoz was cited with minor in consumption, but no citations were issued to Nick and Lyndsie, Johnson said.

When everyone got back to Ozona, Tobar said to go to the hospital but the kids wanted to go get cleaned up.

“He (Tobar) feels like a daddy to these kids. He doesn’t want to see them get in trouble and he doesn’t think they are not that hurt.”

At the Tobar house, Lyndsie could have used the phone or walked to the Perez house, but she wanted to clean up and sober up, Johnson said.

“I don’t know how we can make any sense of why Lyndsie was trying to do and what Nick was trying to do, but Mr. Tobar didn’t do the things they are saying about him.”

District Attorney Laurie English –

Alfredo Tobar wanted you to believe that he loved Nick Perez like a son.

The undisputed facts in this case are:

“They are very lucky to be alive,” English said.

English said that even Tobar told Deputy Andrew Sanchez that if Sanchez had seen the car he would have thought that everyone had died.

“They are very lucky they received the treatment they did when they did,” English said.

English said Lyndsie was “one tough cookie” to argue with the adult in charge and demanding to be taken to the hospital.

English said Nick was “darn lucky” to have someone like Lyndsie to fight for him that night.

In speaking about the state’s witnesses, English said DPS Trooper Michael Johnson did exactly what he is paid to do in checking into the accident and situation at hand. She said Texas Ranger Brooks Long also did what he is paid to do in investigation the events that have led to the trial.

Nick’s mother, Sandra Perez told about how Nick struggled with recovery and her concern when she got to the hospital and saw his injuries, English said.

“Thank God we are not talking about her deceased son, and instead are talking about her son who is about to become a U.S. Marine,” she said.

English also said that Sanchez heard Tobar tell Johnson that Tobar didn’t know where the accident vehicle was.

On his way to the accident, Tobar told DPS Trooper Rito Renteria that Kenny and him were going to the truck stop for burgers.

“He (Tobar) lied to Trooper Johnson and Trooper Renteria,” English said. “He was willing to do anything to protect his own son. He even lied to you (the jury).”

In the testimony of Rocky Munoz, Munoz said Tobar’s wife, Lisa Tobar saw the kids drinking. His testimony also confirmed that the Tobar sons do drink and that when Tobar saw Rocky, Rocky had a beer in his hand.

Munoz said that Lyndsie called the Perez house after the accident, but there was no answer. Munoz also  said that the light worked in the cab of the pickup Kenny Tobar was driving.

“He (Tobar) said he couldn’t see how bad the injuries were, that goes out the window with the cab light working,” English said.

When the victims left the scene, Munoz said no one mentioned going to the Perez house and that nothing was said about going to the Tobar’s house to get cleaned up. Munoz said Nick never said anything about getting into the shower to sober up.

English said Tobar had several opportunities to call 9-1-1:

“Mr. Johnson would have you believe all Mr. Tobar needed to do was put a band-aid on their injuries,” English said. “Dr. Sims said he doesn’t have the ability to diagnose ruptured spleen by looking. Dr. Sims also said that any delay puts people at risk.”

English said that waiting on an ambulance is different than being held by someone who wants to get his story straight instead of taking responsibility for what his son did.

“Your verdict should send a message and that message should be if you collect one of our kids from an accident scene take them to the hospital to get help, don’t protect your son and put my kid at risk,” she said.

Tobar Trial June 11, 2008

Testimony of Commissioner Alfredo Tobar –

Commissioner Alfredo Tobar was the first witness in the defense's case.

At 11:30 p.m. on July 28, 2006, Tobar said he met Nick Perez and Lyndsie Crawford at his front door and Crawford had a beer in her hand.

Tobar said he did not know there had been a party going on at his house that night and that no beer is allowed at his residence. Tobar also said that neither his wife, Lisa, nor him ever drink alcohol.

Tobar said Nick Perez was like a son to him and that Perez use to sleep there and that he treated him like a son.

When Perez and Crawford were leaving the Tobar’s house, they told Tobar to go look at his son. Tobar said he found his son Alfredo Tobar Jr. “dead drunk,  knocked out in bed,” and that it looked like beer had been poured on his rear end.

Tobar said he that “since there was nothing I could do” he went to his bedroom.

Around midnight, Tobar said he received a phone call from his son T.J. Tobar stating that he had been in an accident and he needed to be picked up.

A week before the accident, T.J. Tobar’s car was in the shop for an oil change and that Alfredo Tobar said he noticed some lug nuts missing from one of the tires.

When T.J Tobar told his father he was on Taylor Box Road, Alfredo Tobar said he didn’t know the accident was serious, he just thought the tire had come off.

On the way out to the accident scene, Alfredo Tobar and his son Kenny Tobar were stopped by DPS Trooper Reterina. Kenny Tobar was driving and the trooper issued him a speeding ticket, Tobar said.

When the trooper asked where the men were going, Tobar said he told the trooper they were going to the Circle Bar Truck Stop for some hamburgers.

“I really didn’t know my son had been in a major accident and the trooper didn’t need to know where we were going,” he said.

Tobar said he and Kenny turned south on Taylor Box Road first because accidents often happen on that part of the road. When they didn’t find anyone, they turned around and headed north.

The men then saw T.J., Nick and Lyndsie walking in the middle of the road toward the truck stop, Tobar said.

Tobar said T.J. told him the car was on fire and didn’t his dad want to see it. Tobar said no he didn’t and that they needed to go to the hospital.

T.J. told his dad that Rocky Munoz took off running after the accident because Rocky didn’t want to get in trouble. On the way back to Interstate-10, Alfredo Tobar said they saw Rocky and picked him up.

Tobar said at the truck stop he called Nick’s mother Sandra Perez and told her about the accident and that they were taking the teenagers to the hospital.

When they arrived in Ozona, Tobar said he told the teenagers they needed to go to the hospital. Tobar said that Lyndsie said to take all of them back to the Tobar residence so she could pick up her vehicle, get Nick’s mom and have her take them to the hospital.

“I’m in the middle of this. I don’t know how hurt they are. I didn’t know the other kids were there when my son called,” Tobar said. “I didn’t know what to do.”

At the Tobar house, Lyndsie couldn’t find her keys to her vehicle and said they may have burned in the car at the accident, Tobar said. Nick was taken inside and Tobar said when they were all in the house he could tell they were really hurt.

Tobar said the kids wanted to clean themselves up, and that Nick went into the bathroom and Lyndsie started washing her face.

Tobar said Nick got  into the shower/bathtub and kept saying how he needed to “sober down.”

Tobar said he told Lyndsie that they have to tell Nick that Lyndsie is really hurt so he will go to the hospital. Nick didn’t want to go to the hospital, Tobar said.

When everyone got into Tobar’s truck, he drove them to the emergency room in Ozona. Tobar said he then left the emergency room and went to pick up Sandra Perez. Sandra Perez had told him earlier on the phone she couldn’t find her car keys and her vehicle was block by her husband’s truck, Tobar said.

When DPS Trooper Michael Johnson asked Tobar who all was involved in the accident, Tobar said he told him the name of all four people. Tobar said Rocky didn’t want anyone to know he was involved because he didn’t want to get in trouble.

“I can’t lie to the officer. I had to tell him about Rocky,” Tobar said. “I did everything I could to get the kids to the hospital.”

Tobar said he drove to his house, by way of Johnson’s request, to try and wake up his son T.J. who was passed out in bed. T.J. wouldn’t wake up so Tobar said he drive back to the emergency room.

Tobar and Johnson then went to the Tobar house and woke up T.J. Johnson eventually arrested T.J. that night for driving while intoxicated. Johnson also cited Rocky Munoz with minor in consumption.

Tobar said he cooperated with Johnson and cooperated with Texas Ranger Brooks Long during his investigation. He also said if he had the opportunity to testify to a grand jury he would have.

“I did not restrain, intimidate or threaten those kids. I wouldn’t do that,” Tobar said. “I was trying real hard to get them to the hospital.”

During cross-examination, District Attorney Laurie English asked Tobar if he doesn’t allow alcohol at his house, why were the teenagers allowed to drink that night in his backyard.

Tobar said he didn’t know about the drinking until he got home and that he didn’t know the teens were drunk.

Tobar said his wife, Lisa Tobar, didn’t stop the drinking because it was Alfred Tobar Jr.’s 17th birthday and that Lisa Tobar wanted her son to be at the house drinking and not anywhere else.  Tobar also said he didn’t know who bought the alcohol.

English asked Tobar about the accident and why he didn’t take the injured teenagers to the hospital.

Tobar said I kept telling them over and over they needed to go to the hospital, and that he didn’t know how bad their injuries were until they walked into his house.

Tobar also said taking the teenagers to the hospital in his vehicle would have been faster than waiting on an ambulance to arrive.

“They didn’t want to go to the hospital because they were drunk,” Tobar said.

English asked Tobar if he would do anything to protect his children.

Tobar said there are certain limits to protecting a child, and that he has tried to keep his children out of trouble.

Tobar then brought up his son Kenny Tobar who pled guilty for theft and fraudulent use of identifying information. He is currently in prison.

“You sent my son to the pen,” Tobar said to English. “I did not say one word and he is in the pen because of you (English). You (English) put him in jail because you don’t like me.”

Tobar said that since he has been elected commissioner the road the accident occurred on has been repaired.

“I’m a commissioner now so I know the condition of the road,” he said.

Tobar said again that none of the teenagers wanted to go to the hospital and that all of them were scared.

“I was upset and nervous. That was a scary feeling,” he said.

Testimony of Dr. Marcus Sims –
  

Dr. Marcus Sims was the final witness in the state’s case.

In his testimony, he said that Lyndsie Crawford has facial lacerations and that Nick Perez had multiple abrasions, was complaining of chest pain, abdominal pain and shortness of breath.

Sims said both Lyndsie and Nick were evasive about the details of the accident.

Sims said he main focus that evening was getting Nick Perez moved to the hospital in San Angelo where more sophisticated equipment was available to treat his injuries.

Sims said he receives pages on 9-1-1 calls when an ambulance is dispatched and that he did not receive one the night of the accident.

Sims said the nurses at the emergency room paged him and when he called the clinic the nurses told him two people had been brought in with injuries from a vehicle accident.

Sims said on his way to the clinic he called the Texas Department of Public Safety and informed them they may want to send a trooper to the clinic to investigate.

At the emergency room, Sims said he asked Alfredo Tobar what had happened. Tobar said he didn’t know why the kids had called for Tobar to pick them up.

Sims said he was worried about Nick Perez’s because he thought he could have internal injuries, and that Nick needed a cat scan or an MRI scan to make sure his spleen was not damaged. Sims said if a spleen is ruptured internal bleeding can occur, which, if not treated, can lead to death.

Sims also said he thought Nick had bruising on his lungs, but that a regular x-ray would not show this.

In San Angelo, the doctors there diagnosed Nick with pulmonary contusions, or bruising on the lungs. Nick also had fractures in two ribs and suffered a minor concussion, Sims said.

“I felt like he (Nick Perez) was suffering serious bodily injuries that night, which is why I worked to try and get him immediately transferred to San Angelo,” Sims said. “As a physician there is certain signs and symptoms you relay on to lead you to certain conclusions.”

Sims said the emergency room in Ozona does not have a cat scan or MRI equipment, which is why Nick Perez had to be transported to San Angelo.

Sims said the doctor’s report in San Angelo stated that Nick Perez had contusions, or bruising, on his lungs.

In cross-examination, J.W. Johnson asked several questions about the bruising and insisted the San Angelo doctors did not put on their reports that Nick had contusions or bruising on his lungs.

“You do not understand medical terms,” Sims said to Johnson.

During the testimony, District Judge Dick Alcala warned Johnson two more times about arguing with the witness.

Johnson asked Sims if the drinking of alcohol was the cause of Nick’s injuries. Sims said drinking alcohol had nothing to do with the injuries.

Johnson also asked Sims if the injuries were life-threatening and if any delay in treatment hurt Nick Perez.

“Any delay in treatment can put a person at risk. If injuries are not treated they may be life-threatening,” Sims said. “If a car wreck is involved 9-1-1 should be called to get treatment. It’s inappropriate for a lay person to make the decision in getting treatment.”

When Nick Perez went to Sims for his football physical in August after the July accident, Sims said he did not clear Nick to play football because the doctor in San Angelo wanted Nick to follow up three weeks after the accident with another chest x-ray. At the time of the football physical, it had not been three weeks since the accident.

“I knew he had been in accident and had lung injuries. At the time of his physical, his lungs sounded normal, but I didn’t want him to play football until the doctor in San Angelo released him,” Sims said. “I’m just trying to be a doctor and I would really like to be one this afternoon.”

Testimony of Texas Ranger Brooks Long –

During his testimony, Texas Ranger Brooks Long read the statement he took from Alfredo Tobar in March 2007.

In the statement, Tobar stated that he told the accident victims, Lyndsie Crawford, Nick Perez and his son T.J. Tobar that they all needed to go to the hospital. Tobar said he made this statement about going to the hospital several times that night.

He also said that his wife, Lisa Tobar, made the same statement about taking the victims to the hospital.

Tobar said in the statement that the teenagers didn’t want to go to the hospital because they had been drinking. He said Crawford refused to go to the hospital and that he kept telling them to go.

Tobar also said that he never saw the car on the night of accident and that T.J. drank a whole bottle of liquor at home after the accident.

Tobar said the first time he saw the car was at the JohnCo wrecking yard.

During cross examination, defense attorney J.W. Johnson asked Long about his feelings toward Tobar.

Long said his office door was open to anyone in the community, including the Tobar Family, but that after Long started his investigation Tobar began harassing the Long family by taking photographs of the Long family, stalking them and making threats to the Long family.

“I don’t think he (Tobar) understands the roll I have as a public servant and investigator. I’m charged to investigate someone in his family if they break the law,” Long said.

Long said his feelings toward the Tobar family did not taint his investigation with district attorney’s office in this matter.

On the day that Tobar made his statement to Long, Long informed Tobar that he and his son T.J. Tobar had been indicted by a Crockett County Grand Jury. Long said he did not arrest Tobar, but told Tobar that District Judge Pete Gomez had requested that Tobar and his son T.J. Tobar turn themselves in to the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office.

During this questioning, District Judge Dick Alcala warned Johnson to not become argumentative with Long and threatened to hold Johnson in contempt of court of he did not stop. He also warned Long about arguing with Johnson.

“This is not a  free for all. Ask the questions you need to ask and then move on,” Alcala said to Johnson.

Long also testified that he wrote in his reports that Tobar was tampering with witnesses Crawford and Perez. No charges were filed on this matter, Long said.

Long also said that an arson investigation was conducted due to the suspicious nature of the vehicle fire at the accident scene, but that Fire Marshal Steve Kenely sated in his report that two separate fires occurred and they were accidental in nature. The first fire was on the vehicle and the second one was in the brush around the vehicle, Long said.

Testimony of Deputy Andrew Sanchez –

In his short testimony, Crockett County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Sanchez said that Tobar made a statement to DPS Trooper Michael Johnson, on the night of the accident, that Tobar did not know where the vehicle was that was involved in the accident.

A short time later, that same evening, Sanchez said Tobar made a statement to him in Spanish that if Andrew had seen the vehicle, he would have thought the occupants would have been killed and that the kids were very lucky.

Testimony of Sandra Perez –

Sandra Perez, mother of accident victim Nick Perez, said that she became informed of the accident on July 29, 2006 when Tobar called her from the emergency room in Ozona.

She said a static message was on her answering machine from Crawford and the reason she didn’t answer the phone when Crawford called was because her and her husband didn’t hear the phone ring because they were asleep.

Photographs of Nick Perez’s injuries were shown during her testimony. Sandra Perez described the cuts, abrasions and bruises on Nick’s forehead, legs and a cut on the back of his head that needed staples. She also described the road rash Nick had on one side of his body, cuts on his shoulder and a swollen toe. He also had two broken ribs, she said.

On the day in August that Nick gave a written statement to DPS Trooper Ben English, Sandra Perez said Nick was having difficulty remembering. He was on pain medication at the time, she said.

“He would start a sentence, pause and then start the same sentence over again,” she said.

Perez said if she had been able to understand Crawford’s message or if she had picked up the phone when Crawford called, she would have called 9-1-1 first and then gone wherever she needed to go.

Perez also said that Crawford was the main person that told her son about what happened at the accident, and that she said she learned about the accident details through conversations between Crawford and Nick.

Perez also said that law enforcement officials did not try to refresh Nick’s memory.

Tobar Trial June 10, 2008

Testimony of Nick Perez
               
During his witness testimony, Nick Perez, 19, said during the accident he could feel the car sliding. He then grabbed Lyndsie Crawford. The next thing he said he remembered was waking up in a field. He said he could barely breathe or yell, and that he felt in great pain.

perez said he remembered Tobar’s pickup coming to pick them up at the accident scene and then waking up in a bathtub at the Tobar household.

“I was shaking real bad and in a lot of pain,” he said.

Perez said despite his injuries, he could hear Crawford arguing with Tobar in the house about going to the emergency room in Ozona.

“I could hear him (Tobar) telling Lyndsie we need to get this story straight. That we need to tell them I was driving because I was hurt the worst, so he (Tobar) could save his own son’s ass.”

In cross-examination, J.W. Johnson, Tobar’s attorney, asked why Perez had refused to talk to the Tobar family since the accident.

“What he (Tobar) did to me, I thought was wrong. I’m disappointed in him and I blame him for what happened,” Perez said. “I wouldn’t call what he did saving us. He picked us up. He had to because his car was on fire and someone was going to get in trouble. We (Perez and Crawford) weren’t driving, so I guess it was going to be T.J. (Tobar). I don’t think he cared about us from his actions.”

Perez said T.J. Tobar was driving and had been drinking at the Tobar’s house with Perez, Rocky Munoz and Crawford during a birthday party celebration for Alfredo Tobar Jr. Perez said he drank Budweiser and Everclear at the party, and that his parents would not have approved of his behavior or being out past his midnight curfew.

Perez said he never saw Crawford with an alcoholic beverage in her hand and that both he and Crawford were wearing their seat belts during the accident.

He also said he remembered a “popping sound” coming from wrecked vehicle and he saw some flames from the vehicle as he was being helped up after the accident.

In a statement made to DPS Trooper Ben English in August of 2006, Perez said that he never saw T.J. Tobar with alcoholic beverage in his hand.

Perez said that due to a head injury and pain medication he was taking at the time, he may not have been remembering things clearly. He also said he sustained two broken ribs and rolled his ankle.

Since then, Perez said memories of the accident have come back to him.

Johnson asked Perez several times if any friends, law enforcement or legal officials had “helped” Perez regain his memories. Perez answered “no” to each question.

Testimony Lyndsie Crawford

Lyndsie Crawford, 19, testified that during the accident, located 5.6 miles on North Taylor Box Road, she remembered sliding and Perez grabbing her.

She said she told Perez to tell T.J. Tobar, who was driving, to slow down several times before the vehicle rolled.

“I could feel blood running down my face,” Crawford said. “Nick had blood from his head and was moaning and kept saying ‘I’m hurt and help me.’”

Crawford said she called Perez’s mother and left a message on the answering machine about the accident and then said she saw T.J. Tobar call his father.

When Alfredo Tobar showed up at the accident scene, Crawford said asked him to take them to the emergency room.

Instead of taking them to the emergency room, Crawford said Alfredo Tobar took them to his house to get “cleaned up first.”

At the house, Alfredo Tobar tried to get Crawford to say she was driving and then to say Perez was driving.

“I felt angry,” she said.

At the emergency room, Crawford said she wouldn’t talk to the nurses as long as Alfredo Tobar was there, but that when Tobar left she told the nurses about the accident.

Crawford said she had a cut to her left cheek that required stitches, along with cuts and abrasions on her face and black eyes, and that

Dr. Marcus Sims took several rocks out of her forehead. She also identified several photos of her injuries.

During cross-examination, Johnson asked why Crawford didn’t call 9-1-1 at the accident scene or at the Tobar residence.
She said she was worried about Perez and trying to focus on taking care of him.

Johnson asked her if she felt that she would be in trouble for drinking.

“That wasn’t my concern, I was worried about Nick,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking about calling 9-1-1. I wasn’t going leave Nick. My primary concern was Nick because he was acting like he was really hurt.”

Crawford said that while Tobar did not physically restrain them, he refused to take them to the hospital until an hour after the accident happened.

Crawford also said that Tobar’s wife, Lisa Tobar, said the victims should be taken to the emergency room.

“I do not recall any concern he (Tobar) had for us,” she said.

Opening Statements:

Steve Smith, ADA –

On July 28, 2006 Timothy Joe Tobar (T.J.), Rocky Munoz, Lyndsie Crawford and Nick Perez were all involved in a car accident on North Taylor Box Road. Evidence will show that T.J. was drunk and driving recklessly, that Nick Perez and Lyndsie Crawford were thrown from the vehicle, the car caught fire and Nick and Lyndsie sustained serious injuries.
Evidence will also show that Alfredo Tobar received a call from T.J. and that Alfredo and his other son Kenny Tobar drove to the accident scene, picked up the victims and then took everyone back to the Tobar’s residence instead of to the clinic for medical attention.  Evidence and testimony will also show that the victims were not taken to the emergency room until two hours after the accident occurred.
“The state believes the testimony of witnesses will show the facts that this defendant (Alfredo Tobar) restrained Nick Perez and Lyndsie Crawford from getting medical attention ant there was an obstruction of justice on by Mr. Tobar.”

J.W. Johnson, attorney for Alfredo Tobar, -

“We have waited almost two years to tell our side of the story. “
It’s important to consider the perspective of the individuals out there and what their motives were. The cause of the accident was these kids partying and drinking against the wishes of their parents and violating home rules and curfews.
Evidence shows all kids involved in the accident were hurt. My client (Alfredo Tobar) did not cause the accident to happen. He was being responsible as a parent and is merely a victim of circumstance.  The other parents of these children were also available that night.
We will focus on what the law enforcement community did with my client and whether they were objective and fair in their investigation and evaluation.
Evidence will show that my client is not guilty of the offenses. His family did what they could for those kids. We will focus our attention on what actually happened.
Evidence will show that these kids wanted to go to my client’s house and get cleaned up.
“I believe you will be able to deliberate and find in all good conscience that my client is not guilty.”