A southeast Texas man says that despite his acquittal Wednesday for the shooting death of the drunken driver who caused a crash that killed his two sons, there are no winners.
Prosecutors had alleged that Barajas killed 20-year-old Jose Banda in a fit of rage after Banda plowed into Barajas and his sons while they were pushing a truck on a rural Southeast Texas road near their home because it had run out of gas. Twelve-year-old David Jr. and 11-year-old Caleb were killed.
Authorities said that after the accident, Barajas, 32, went to his home about 100 yards from the crash site near Alvin, got a gun and returned to shoot Banda.
Defense attorney Sam Cammack said Barajas didn't kill Banda and that he was only focused on saving his sons. The gun used to kill Banda wasn't found and there was little physical evidence linking Barajas to the killing.
Legal experts said prosecutors also likely had to overcome jury sympathy for Barajas, who had the support of many residents of Alvin, which is about 30 miles southeast of Houston. Further complicating their case was that there were no witnesses who identified Barajas as the shooter, and gunshot residue tests done on Barajas came back negative.
