Trial begins for 2015 fatal shooting outside Pasco nightclub

At first, Eduardo Angon Del Villar and his friends thought the two men taunting them outside a Pasco club last August were joking.

When they realized the men were serious, Del Villar refused to be bullied and confronted them.

He was lured away from his friends outside La Tropicana by Enrique Alcaide. As they scuffled, Alcaide’s uncle, Santos Flores-Alcaide, came up and shot Del Villar twice in the chest.

“Then he shot Eduardo one more time as he fell to the ground, clutching his wounds,” prosecutor Lucas Downer told a jury Wednesday in Franklin County Superior Court.

The defense attorneys for Alcaide and Flores-Alcaide gave a reverse narrative in their opening arguments, saying Del Villar and his friends instigated the confrontation.

Flores-Alcaide only acted to save his nephew’s life after Alcaide was put in a headlock and pushed against a vehicle, said his lawyer, Shelley Ajax.

And Alcaide was too busy trying to defend himself at the time Del Villar was shot, said his attorney, Richard Smith.

“He didn’t have a gun, he didn’t shoot anybody, he didn’t ask anyone to shoot anybody,” Smith said.

The trial for Flores-Alcaide, 29, and Alcaide, 23, opened Wednesday. They face one count each of first-degree murder. Flores-Alcaide also faces felony counts of first-degree assault and possession of a stolen gun.

The uncle and nephew were arrested shortly after the vehicle they were in was seen leaving a parking lot of the Tropicana following the fatal shooting of Del Villar.

Medical personnel who treated Del Villar before he died and several witnesses to the shooting — including one who was also shot at — are expected to testify for the prosecution.

Prosecutors presented their first three witnesses — the dispatcher who took the initial 911 call after the shooting and two Pasco police officers who responded to the scene — after opening statements.

They also played the 911 call reporting the shooting, and a dashcam video showing the arrest of Alcaide and Flores-Alcaide at the Lewis Street underpass not far from the Tropicana.

Other evidence is expected to include pictures of Del Villar’s injuries, bloody clothing belonging to Del Villar and the defendants, the seven 9-millimeter shell casings found at the scene of the shooting, and the 9mm Glock handgun found not far from the shooting and listed as stolen from Yakima.

“We have proof that every element of the crime exists beyond a reasonable doubt,” Downer said.

Ajax said her client and his nephew had gone to the Tropicana that night to have a few drinks and catch up. They went to leave and were confronted outside by Del Villar and his friends.

“Santos continues to walk, and he doesn’t stop and he doesn’t speak to them. He doesn’t want any trouble,” she said.

It’s only after Flores-Alcaide and Alcaide walked through a gate to get to their vehicle that they heard someone chasing after them, the gate clanged, and then Alcaide was beaten, she said. One of her witnesses will be an expert on headlocks and how dangerous they can be.

Smith told jurors that Del Villar “was intent on fighting (Alcaide), was intent on beating him.”

“He has to stand trial because he was in a fight with Eduardo, he was actually getting a beating and his uncle sought to protect him,” Smith said.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Trial begins for 2015 fatal shooting outside Pasco nightclub."