Man to face trial in shooting death at popular Missouri swimming hole
Posted on Sunday, August 17, 2008
GAINESVILLE, Mo. — A man accused of killing an Arkansan at a popular swimming hole will face a murder charge, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Jesus Sesena-Murrieta, 27, will be bound over for trial in Ozark County Circuit Court on felony charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action, Associate Division Circuit Judge John Jacobs ruled at the close of a nearly threehour hearing.
Jacobs rejected a defense motion for bail for Sesena-Murrieta, who has been held in the Ozark County jail since the July 20 shooting death of Alonzo M. Foster Jr., 22, of Ash Flat.
Foster was shot four times at the swimming hole on private property on Lick Creek, a few miles north of the Arkansas state line.
Security was extremely tight for the hearing, with more than 20 uniformed and plainclothes officers inside and outside the courthouse in the county seat of Gainesville, which has 632 residents.
Ozark County Sheriff Raymond Pace said his office had received information about death threats against Sesena-Murrieta, prompting the increased security.
Spectators passed through two security checkpoints, where officers used hand-held metal detectors, before entering the second-floor courtroom.
Several members of the Howell County, Mo., SWAT team were stationed inside the courtroom, including three officers carrying automatic weapons.
At least three dozen relatives and friends of the victim packed the courtroom.
“If there were any threats made, they didn’t come from us,” the victim’s father, Alonzo M. Foster Sr., said before the hearing. “I don’t want any violence. We’ve all suffered enough.” The victim and his parents were among a group of family and friends who had gathered at a swimming area, known as Big Rock Hole, on the day of slaying.
The property is owned by the defendant’s mother-in-law, Alicia Sanders.
Witnesses for the state said Sesena-Murrieta drove up to the swimming area on an all-terrain vehicle and left without speaking to anyone.
He returned about 30 minutes later, along with his mother-in-law.
Alonzo Foster Sr. testified that Sanders told him the group was trespassing on private property. He responded that he thought the creek was for everyone, but agreed the group would leave.
“Then he shot my son,” he said, adding that there was no sign of anger or an audible argument between the two men before the shooting.
The elder Foster later told defense lawyer Dee Wampler that he was smoking marijuana and drinking beer at the swimming hole but said his son wasn’t.
The victim’s mother, Sandra Foster, testified that she ran to her son’s side after the shooting.
“He turned around and said, ‘Mama, I love you.’ Then he was out.” Foster was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds about six hours later at Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home.
Another member of the swimming party, Brad Deweese Jr., said he and Foster were on the creek bank together when Sesena-Murrieta drove up the second time. Deweese said Sesena-Murietta “looked like he was fuming, like he was angry at something. We didn’t know he had a gun.” “Alonzo asked him what the problem was. He didn’t say anything. He shoved Alonzo, and Alonzo shoved him back.” Sesena-Murrieta “tripped back probably a good 4 or 5 feet, then he pulled a pistol and shot.” Deweese said the younger Foster continued to advance toward Sesena-Murrieta, and he thought his friend was trying to get the gun to protect the swimming party. His friend “was reaching, and he kept shooting.” Deweese said the younger Foster had one drink of vodka during the party. He denied telling an officer after the shooting that his friend was drinking vodka and “stumbling.” Sesena-Murrieta fled the scene after the shooting and turned himself in to authorities several hours later.
Ozark County Chief Deputy Justin W. Riley testified that the defendant told officers he dropped the gun in the woods as he ran away.
Riley said the gun has not been found, despite an extensive search by officers and a dog trained to sniff out explosives and firearms.
Riley said Sesena-Murrieta told officers that he fired a warning shot into the air after the younger Foster told him they weren’t leaving and then punched him the face, knocking him to ground.
He told officers he thought the group “were gonna kill me.” Sesena-Murrieta said he began firing again after being struck on the hand.
Sesena-Murrieta is originally from Mexico. Riley testified that an officer with U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sesena-Murrieta did not have the required documentation proving he was in the United States legally and would be subject to deportation if he is released from jail.
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