"It could've been the perfect crime," said prosecutor Brian Hutchins. "The defendant could've gotten away with it, except there were two huge mistakes."
The trial may not be the only trouble for Lisa Alarcon. The 25-year-old is charged with two attempted murders in August of last year. Prosecutors say Alarcon nearly got away with shooting her parents, except for a car accident and a witness. Her attorney says the witness is unreliable, but the attorney himself may be the victim in Alarcon's latest alleged attack.
iPhone video shows Fresno County sheriff's deputies hurrying into a courtroom just minutes after Lisa Alarcon's trial was set to start. As they walked in, her attorney walked out. Instigators say in a private hearing in which Alarcon was trying to fire her attorney, Scott Baly, she shoved him. At least six deputies rushed into the room to control her. An hour later, with order restored, Alarcon's attempted murder trial started with Baly back at her side.
"Gunshots cut through the night as they slept in their bed," Hutchins said.
The prosecutor said Alarcon walked up to her parents' bedroom window in the middle of the night and opened fire. Her father was left in a wheelchair for months. Her mother nearly bled to death. But neither of them saw who shot, and neither of them could imagine it was their daughter.
"The evidence in this trial is going to show that Lisa had no motive to hurt her mother and father," Baly said.
Alarcon's parents or the first witness were not identified because of safety concerns brought up in court, including an alleged threat after the shooting. But prosecutors say Alarcon made two fateful mistakes. She crashed her SUV into a power pole as she drove away, leaving evidence behind, and she committed the crime in full view of a neighbor.
"And he watched as she began firing over and over and over again, about five shots, into her parents' bedroom," Hutchins said.
The neighbor said he rushed to help as soon as he saw Alarcon leave. And as they waited for police, he broke the bad news by identifying the shooter.
"Did you tell him you saw who did it?" Hutchins asked.
"Yeah," said the neighbor.
"What did you tell him?" Hutchins asked
"I told him it was his daughter," said the neighbor.
Alarcon may not face any new charges for the courtroom incident. But she faces life in prison if she's convicted of the attack on her parents.
