By Jared Taylor
EDINBURG — Jurors will begin deciding the fate Monday of a former Customs and Border Protection officer who fatally shot a nightclub owner last year.
Closing arguments ended in the trial of Jose Guadalupe Elizondo, 32, in Hidalgo County Auxiliary Court on Thursday.
He stands accused of the murder of Fermin Limon, the 49-year-old owner of the Punto Tres night club near Alton in August 2010.
At question for jurors is whether Limon’s fatal shooting qualifies as murder, or whether Elizondo was justified in killing him in self-defense.
Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies arrested Elizondo after the Aug. 9, 2010, fatal shooting, alleging that Limon’s slaying was not justifiable under the law.
Investigators said Elizondo, his wife and brother were thrown out of the club after an argument inside. The Norteño bar’s bouncers followed them into the parking lot, where a second fight broke out.
Elizondo broke free from the scuffle, went to his truck and retrieved his CBP-issued pistol. Investigators said he then returned to the bouncers and confronted Limon, who also had a gun, and shot him twice, in the chest and leg.
Elizondo’s lawyer, Santos Maldonado Jr., hammered that point — literally — as he waved both guns recovered at the crime scene, even pointing one at jurors to make his point.
“Are you going to defend yourself or not?” Maldonado asked the jurors, pointing a pistol toward them.
“Mr. Elizondo was in fear of his life at that time,” Maldonado said, tapping one of the guns on a courtroom podium. “This is it — nothing else.”
Prosecutors argued Elizondo escalated the situation by confronting the night club’s personnel, rather than leaving.
“He was a peace officer,” prosecutor Rolando Cantu said. “He was a federal agent and he was going to take matters into his own hands.
“You expect better from anybody. You expect more from a federal agent … that was his decision, and he made it.”
Jurors heard from Elizondo himself, who maintained killing Limon was out of self-defense.
“Elizondo told you he has never been put in this position before in his personal life or professional career,” Maldonado said. “And he told you the only reason he fired was because he feared for his life.”
Limon’s family, who purchased several half-page newspaper ads celebrating the music promoter’s life and demanding justice in the months after his death, wept as prosecutors showed his photo at the close of the trial.
Prosecutor Griselda Rincon Flores implored jurors to convict Elizondo and show that “no one is above the law.”
“We’re here to protect citizens — not to kill them,” she said. “Your money pays our salaries. And we are here to follow the law like anyone else.”
__
Jared Taylor covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at jtaylor@themonitor.com or (956) 683-4439.
Closing arguments ended in the trial of Jose Guadalupe Elizondo, 32, in Hidalgo County Auxiliary Court on Thursday.
He stands accused of the murder of Fermin Limon, the 49-year-old owner of the Punto Tres night club near Alton in August 2010.
At question for jurors is whether Limon’s fatal shooting qualifies as murder, or whether Elizondo was justified in killing him in self-defense.
Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies arrested Elizondo after the Aug. 9, 2010, fatal shooting, alleging that Limon’s slaying was not justifiable under the law.
Investigators said Elizondo, his wife and brother were thrown out of the club after an argument inside. The Norteño bar’s bouncers followed them into the parking lot, where a second fight broke out.
Elizondo broke free from the scuffle, went to his truck and retrieved his CBP-issued pistol. Investigators said he then returned to the bouncers and confronted Limon, who also had a gun, and shot him twice, in the chest and leg.
Elizondo’s lawyer, Santos Maldonado Jr., hammered that point — literally — as he waved both guns recovered at the crime scene, even pointing one at jurors to make his point.
“Are you going to defend yourself or not?” Maldonado asked the jurors, pointing a pistol toward them.
“Mr. Elizondo was in fear of his life at that time,” Maldonado said, tapping one of the guns on a courtroom podium. “This is it — nothing else.”
Prosecutors argued Elizondo escalated the situation by confronting the night club’s personnel, rather than leaving.
“He was a peace officer,” prosecutor Rolando Cantu said. “He was a federal agent and he was going to take matters into his own hands.
“You expect better from anybody. You expect more from a federal agent … that was his decision, and he made it.”
Jurors heard from Elizondo himself, who maintained killing Limon was out of self-defense.
“Elizondo told you he has never been put in this position before in his personal life or professional career,” Maldonado said. “And he told you the only reason he fired was because he feared for his life.”
Limon’s family, who purchased several half-page newspaper ads celebrating the music promoter’s life and demanding justice in the months after his death, wept as prosecutors showed his photo at the close of the trial.
Prosecutor Griselda Rincon Flores implored jurors to convict Elizondo and show that “no one is above the law.”
“We’re here to protect citizens — not to kill them,” she said. “Your money pays our salaries. And we are here to follow the law like anyone else.”
__
Jared Taylor covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at jtaylor@themonitor.com or (956) 683-4439.
