Stephen Jonathan Miller, 28, of Ashville, is standing trial for the April 25, 2008, murder of Adalberto Aguilar, 43.
Miller was arrested about one week after the alleged murder and remains free on a $100,000 bond. If convicted, Miller could serve 20 years to life in prison.
“Mr. Aguilar was here from Mexico, working to give his family a better life,” said St. Clair County Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Connelly during her opening statement to the jury. “He was sending money back to his wife and two small children.”
Connelly said Aguilar had been drinking, had a vehicle accident, and turned into Pinedale Baptist Church.
“The defendant (Miller) came out, then went and called the police,” she said. “He came back with a gun and handcuffs and shot the victim five times.”
Birmingham Attorney Roger Appell, representing Miller, said during his opening statement to the jury his client acted in self-defense.
“Stephen heard a wreck and all he knew was someone was hurt and might need help,” Appell said. “He could have done one of two things: nothing, or help.”
Appell said when Miller went to help, he saw Aguilar staggering and slurring his speech and acting bizarre.
“He had no idea why Aguilar was acting bizarre or that he had 0.184 alcohol in his system, the equivalent of 10 12-ounce beers in one hour, and had ingested marijuana,” Appell said.
Appell said Aguilar threatened several times to kill Miller, Miller’s wife and family, and burn their home, using profanity.
“Stephen fired because he perceived the threat of death, then put the weapon on the church steps,” Appell said. “Stephen said it would never have happened if the cops had arrived two minutes sooner.”
St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Charles Simmons testified he was dispatched to Pinedale Road for an automobile accident around 4 p.m., then was notified while en route by central dispatch of a white male holding a gun on a man in a parking lot, then received the notification that shots were fired.
Simmons identified Miller as the white male he found at the scene and placed in handcuffs.
“He (Miller) said ‘I didn’t want to have to kill him’ and if I got there two minutes earlier it wouldn’t have happened,” Simmons testified.
Lt. John McWaters, with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, also testified that Miller said, “I didn’t want to have to shoot him,” twice.
Billy Reynolds, a friend of Aguilar, testified Aguilar had been drinking the day of the murder.
“He was going to come cut my grass, because he had no job that day,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said when Aguilar showed up about lunch time, he could tell Aguilar had “drunk a beer.”
“I told him to wait to cut the grass,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds testified he doesn’t allow alcohol in his house, and did not know how much alcohol Aguilar consumed.
Reynolds’ written statement to authorities stated Aguilar was “intoxicated.”
“To me, one beer is intoxicated,” Reynolds testified.
Angie Rasco, member of the Pinedale Volunteer Fire Department, testified she was driving her children to her parent’s house so she could respond to the vehicle accident with no injuries call when she saw Miller holding a gun on another man. She said the men were standing about 4-5 feet apart, Aguilar standing with his hands on his car, and it appeared similar to a police officer holding a man at bay.
St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Joe Sweatt said Miller was in a patrol car when he arrived on the scene.
“I talked to the medics and called the Alabama State Department of Forensic Science, and they came and collected evidence,” he said.
Sweatt said Miller was detained at the time. Sweatt read him a Miranda Warning, which is read to anyone involved in an incident, including witnesses.
“He said he guessed he needed an attorney,” Sweatt testified.
Appell objected to the statement and St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Jim Hill removed the jury from the courtroom briefly. Appell requested a mistrial. Hill denied the request for a mistrial.
Sweatt continued his testimony once the jurors returned to the courtroom. He testified Miller did not give a statement to authorities at that time, and was released.
Sweat said Miller gave authorities a statement several days later in the presence of his attorney.
Bill Richvalsky, administrator of operations and director of 911 for the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, testified the first 911 call came in at 3:54 p.m. and the first unit arrived on scene at 4:10 p.m.
Richvalsky said a woman identifying herself as Miller’s wife called in at approximately 4:30.
According to the series of 911 calls and dispatch communications, which was played for the jury, Miller’s wife was concerned her husband had been shot because he was lying on the ground.
The St. Clair County District Attorney’s Office attempted to call Miller’s wife, Dana, to the stand but Appell objected citing spousal privilege, and Miller’s wife did not testify.
Jack Kalin, a toxicology expert with the Alabama Department of Forensic Science, said samples taken from Aguilar indicated a blood alcohol level of 0.184 and the presence of marijuana.
Kalin testified that for a person of Aguilar’s size, the blood alcohol level was equivalent to drinking 10 beers in a one-hour period.
“I can’t say when the alcohol was consumed,” he testified. “But he probably had nothing to drink in the 1-2 hours prior to his death.”
Kalin testified that the amount of marijuana in Aguilar’s blood indicated it had been ingested 30 minutes to four hours prior to death.
He testified that the combination of alcohol and marijuana in Aguilar’s system would have made him “unpredictable” and “totally uninhibited” on how he would react.
Joshua Shane Golden, with the Alabama Department of Forensic Science, testified he analyzed and processed evidence at the scene including collecting cartridge casings, the weapon, projectiles (bullets), and photographed evidence.
Golden testified Aguilar’s vehicle had penetrating defects, one which was measured at an approximate 15-degree down angle.
Golden testified he did not know if the penetrating bullet would have changed direction or angle after hitting Aguilar.
St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Randy Wall, testified that Miller and Appell were both present at the Sheriff’s Department in Ashville when Miller gave a written statement May 1, 2008.
Wall read Miller’s statement, which said the defendant was working on his lawnmower when he heard a crash. When Miller went to investigate, he found Aguilar in the church parking lot acting strange and offered to let Aguilar use his phone to call for help. Aguilar told Miller he had no one to call, and not to call the police. Miller left and called the police, returning with handcuffs and a gun. Miller informed Aguilar he had called the police, and Aguilar threatened Miller several times, pulling up his shirt and showing tattoos.
According to Miller’s statement read by Wall, before Aguilar lunged at Miller he shouted, “Shoot me mother f-----. I’m going to kill you.”
“At the time I fired, I truly believed he was going to try to kill me,” Ward read from Miller’s statement.
Martin Cuamatzi, Aguilar’s brother-in-law, of New Jersey, testified he and his wife, Maria Teresa, were vacationing in Mexico at the time of Aguilar’s murder.
“We saw him May 11, 2008, to bury him in Mexico City,” Cuamatzi testified.
Cuamatzi also testified he did not think Aguilar was a U.S. citizen.
The trial is expected to continue today at 9 a.m.
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