Witnesses take the stand in trial for 2020 murder in Huron

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man arrested last month for a 2020 murder at a motel in Huron appeared in a Fresno County courtroom Friday.

A mother and daughter who know the accused shooter, Cesar Velasquez, took the stand.

There were moments of silence and even laughter in the courtroom.

Nearly five years after 27-year-old Javier Merino Perez was fatally shot in the neck in Huron, Velasquez appeared in a courtroom in handcuffs for his preliminary hearing.

Indra Vasquez Cortez and her mother Norma took the stand.

Both women are currently in custody on unrelated charges.

Norma was questioned about a time her daughter called her crying and in panic when she was with Velasquez.

"She was in the car; she called me over the phone and said, 'Mom he's taking me somewhere I don't know where I'm going," recalled Norma.

"I said, 'Cesar bring me my daughter back. Where are you going?'"

Her daughter, Indra, admitted to having a brief romantic relationship with Velasquez.

The defense also pressed her about that phone call to her mother, and if she had spoken to the police regarding the murder.

At first, she denied both.

During questioning, she locked eyes with Velasquez several times, at one point laughing and smiling.

'I'm surprised to see him in the courtroom right now," said Indra.

"You're surprised you see who?" responded a prosecutor.

"Ceasar," Indra replied.

"Why are you surprised?" asked the prosecutor. "I noticed you (and Velasquez) are laughing. No one's ever asked you about this car ride?"

"No," said Indra.

As questioning continued, tension began to rise.

"So, you don't recall Cesar attacking Modesto and Modesto being covered in blood?" asked the prosecutor.

"I didn't know that happened," said Indra.

Velasquez quietly played with his hands while his mother watched from inside the courtroom.

During questioning, both witnesses admitted to a history of substance abuse.

In the end, the defense used that information to claim they were unfit to testify, but the judge quickly shut down that claim.

"Given this is a case that involved events in either 2019 or 2020 and this happens to be 2025 and that there was obviously a lot of self-admitted drug use, there may be issues as to lying or not. But I think she is competent to testify," the judge ruled.

Velasquez has pleaded not guilty.

He will be back in court next Tuesday where even more witnesses will take the stand.

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