Landis Crash Video Shown, Witnesses Testify Defendant Was Drunk, Driving Erratically

POSTED: 11:59 am EDT September 18, 2007
UPDATED: 5:50 pm EDT September 18, 2007


[NEWSVINE: Landis Crash Video Shown, Witnesses Testify Defendant Was Drunk, Driving Erratically

SALISBURY, N.C. -- The murder trial of an illegal immigrant accused of driving drunk and causing a wreck that killed a pregnant woman in Landis is already well underway.

Opening statements began early Tuesday after all 12 jurors for the trial were chosen on Monday. The prosecution is currently presenting its case.

Rigo Verto Guillen-Martinez faces several charges stemming from the February 6 crash that killed Leeanna Newman. Authorities say he was trying to elude a Kannapolis police officer when he hit Newman’s car head-on at a high rate of speed.

Newman and her unborn child died a short time later. Her young daughter survived the accident.

The trial began with video of the crash from a camera mounted inside a police cruiser. Many jurors leaned forward to get a better look, and some held their hands over their mouths in disbelief.

Guillen-Martinez showed no emotions as he watched the video, said Eyewitness News reporter Tim Caputo.

Newman’s family and other members of the audience were shielded from seeing the footage. Regardless, the judge expected the young woman’s loved ones to have a trying day. He told the father of her unborn child just before the start of the trial that he has to control his emotions because the judge doesn’t want to be forced to declare a mistrial.

Witnesses Testify About Defendant’s Driving, Alleged Drinking

By the afternoon, the prosecution had already called eight witnesses to the stand; three of whom were driving and said they saw Guillen-Martinez and others who said they were involved in hit-and-run accidents with the defendant.

Karen Page said she saw Guillen-Martinez driving erratically minutes before the crash. Millison Douglas said the man even hit her car.

[b]“He just sat there, looked right at me, backed up and then drove off,â€