Text messages and evidence at the scene of the crime were the focus of day two in the retrial of Mark Torre Jr.
Elbert Piolo was out partying with Mark Torre Jr. the night he lost his life. But whether or not there was any indication that he would later sustain a fatal gunshot wound was at contention as witnesses were called to the stand to recall the events that transpired prior to the frantic 911 call made by Piolo.
According to one witness at a bar the two men patronized, neither of them appeared agitated. Instead, they may have even hugged.
That night five years ago, Piolo was in communication with at least two individuals sharing photos of his night out. Taking the stand was Leilani Wong, a former co-worker of Piolo who was assigned to executive detail for the Lieutenant Governor.
Piolo had texted her about an hour and a half before the incident, with Piolo texting he was drunk.
The next witness, GPD Officer Ray Alcantra, spoke about photographic evidence he took outside of the Torre residence, with the focus on a bloodied shirt, blood splatter, an expended bullet, and the gun. Specifically, whether or not the gun had been moved and what the blood splatter indicated.
When he was asked whether there were any fingerprints taken from the firearm in this case, Alcantara answered: “The firearms unit would have done that, sir, the vehicle was impounded and taken to the lab for further evidence processing.”
And when he was asked where the greatest concentration of blood was, Alcantara answered: “I believe right when you go outside, it’s about two feet from the vehicle there’s a large portion and then over in the garage area there’s another portion.”
Trial has been recessed until Tuesday, Aug 18.
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