The sounds of gunshots and car alarms coming from surveillance footage, showing how Anthony “AJ” Mendiola was gunned down and later died on Jan. 4 of this year. 

After almost two weeks, the trial of Nathan Ojeda is coming to a close. 

Ojeda is accused of shooting and killing Mendiola from his Jeep, in front of Mendiola’s home in Hagat.

 

Appearing before Judge Alberto Lamorena earlier, Ojeda, alongside the rest of the court listened to the attorneys’ closing statements starting with prosecuting attorney Basil O’Mallan.

O’Mallan told the jury that based on the evidence, not only did Ojeda have every intention of shooting Mendiola, he also meant to kill him. 

"Did you notice that almost immediately, when he (Mendiola) disappears behind the post and gets up close to the Jeep, he is shot almost immediately," he said. "It’s sometime before Nathan Ojeda turns himself in to the police station, agat precinct, giving him enough time to dispose of the gun because it’s never been found. And why is that important?

Why do you need to keep track of that? Because it goes to premeditation. Because what it appears when you put the pieces together that Nathan Ojeda planned this murder. This is not a spur of the moment I’m going to kill Mendiola.  He (Mendiola) was baited to go to the Jeep so that Nathan Ojeda can shoot him and it was a good clean shot."

However, defense attorney Jocelyn Roden told the court that, based on the evidence, there are still so many holes throughout the investigation. She also discredited witness testimony.  

"He testified that brown obstruction and it was a little over 4 feet," she said. "And that corroborates with what...said if you looked out the window when you hear the first shot, it’s most likely blocking your view but yet they clearly saw Nathan," she said. I asked...about the surveillance video, the one right in front of this house. It exists, there’s one right there in the front but that video was never recovered.

The decedent, AJ Mendiola was on his phone because they were reviewing the mass readings for that or something, on his phone and the phone has access to the video camera. Nowhere in this trial did anyone did anyone said they recovered that phone. I asked the widow if she had the phone, if they gave back all the personal effects, none. Nothing, taya. The government didn’t retrieve that video? They have subpoena powers. OK, it’s understandable one day after to work on it, a week after, a month after, but the government can subpoena that."

The jury began deliberations today on whether or not Ojeda is guilty of the allegations against him.