Murder weapon in the mailbox?
Defense attorneys threw an interesting twist into what was supposed to be a routine pretrial hearing Tuesday for Andrew Orellana, a Sioux City man accused of shooting and killing a rival gang member back in 1997.
Prior to the hearing, Orellana’s attorneys filed a motion asking prosecutors to produce a variety of evidence.
Tops on the list was details of a phone call someone made to Sioux City police, reporting that a gun used in the murder was in a police officer’s mailbox.
Say what?
There aren’t many details as the motion itself wasn’t available Tuesday (either hard copy or online), but prosecutors told Judge William Binkard officers did find a .357 Magnum in the mailbox.
However, prosecutors said the gun didn’t match bullets taken from victim Joaquinn Guerrero. Although the caller was wrong about the gun being the murder weapon, it’s still strange somebody left a handgun in a police officer’s mailbox.
The courtroom was filled with more people than normal Tuesday afternoon. Orellana was one of several defendants who had hearings in Dakota County District Court.
In Dakota County, they bring prisoners in the front door of the courtroom, walk them down the center aisle and have them sit in the front row.
It made for a strange site Tuesday when a string of four defendants, including Orellana, shuffled in together wearing their faded black and white uniforms with their chains clanking the whole time.
Orellana’s trial is shaping up to be pretty interesting. Earlier this year, prosecutors and defense attorneys told the judge they were having difficulties finding witnesses for the 12-year-old case.
On Tuesday, prosecutors admitted some witnesses were tested for gunpowder residue but the samples were never submitted to a lab for testing.
Another twist? Orellana’s trial is set to begin on Oct. 7, the 12th anniversary of the shooting.
