Prosecutors and defense attorneys painted differing pictures of
a July 4 accident as testimony got under way in the Robert Orabuena
manslaughter trial Wednesday.
After completing jury selection in the morning, opening
arguments began shortly before 2 p.m. with Deputy District Attorney
Denny Wei speaking to the jury first.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys painted differing pictures of a July 4 accident as testimony got under way in the Robert Orabuena manslaughter trial Wednesday.
After completing jury selection in the morning, opening arguments began shortly before 2 p.m. with Deputy District Attorney Denny Wei speaking to the jury first.
Holding up an enlarged picture of the victim, Joseph Judnick, 48, of Salinas, Wei stressed that the prosecution’s case was about Judnick’s untimely and tragic death “caused by the defendant,” he said in court.
“The defendant sees Joe and despite him seeing Joe, he cuts across the road into a driveway, but he doesn’t make it,” Wei said in court.
He told the jury the prosecution intends to prove it was Orabuena’s reckless disregard for where he was going that led to the accident.
However, defense attorney Arthur Cantu drew a different picture of the chain of events leading to Judnick’s death.
Cantu told the jury that what happened on Fairview Road in July was not Orabuena’s fault, but that the lion’s share of the blame rests with Judnick for traveling at an estimated speed of 92 mph.
“Had Mr. Judnick been traveling at 55 mph, there would never have been an accident,” Cantu said in court.
However, Cantu said his defense of Orabuena will not consist of a campaign to discredit or destroy Judnick’s memory.
“No one is ever going to impugn this man’s character and that is not what this case is about,” he said.
Testimony for the prosecution began with Judnick’s nephew, Ken Rider, 30, taking the stand and talking about lending his uncle his 2002 Harley-Davidson V-Rod to ride.
Rider testified he had won the motorcycle in a radio contest from KSJO months before and that his uncle wanted to try it out.
