Latest evidence against assistant CHP chief accused of helping son escape rape trial

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- After an eight-month delay, former CHP assistant chief Kyle Scarber is back in court along with his wife and stepdaughter. The family is accused of helping Scarber's son Spencer run away to Mexico in the middle of his rape trial. Action News broke the news of Spencer's disappearance in 2012 and his capture in Acapulco two months later.

Eight months ago, we were about to hear what Spencer Scarber told CHP internal affairs investigators about his escape and any involvement his father may have had. The hearing came to a sudden stop and as of Wednesday evening, we still don't know what he had to say. But we did hear what Kyle Scarber told sheriff's detectives about his son's disappearance.

From the first moments they spent at the Squaw Valley home where CHP assistant chief Kyle Scarber lived with his wife and their son, sheriff's detectives say something was fishy. Scarber had reported his son missing and evidence outside the home included crutches and a flashlight, both with something resembling blood on them. "I had some concerns about what I was seeing based on what I believed was possibly blood looked on the items," said Fresno County Sheriff's Office detective Donna Davis. "In a kidnapping type situation, I would've expected to see more disturbance in the dirt."

Spencer Scarber was on trial for rape and scheduled to testify that morning in December 2012. His family is accused of helping him escape to Mexico with an intricate series of crimes, lies and misdirection's. Kyle's statement to detectives was one problem. "(He said) they spent between 9 and 1:30 a.m. studying, preparing for his testimony the following day," said Sergio Toscano, a former sheriff's detective who has retired since the case.

At 3:24 a.m., a car registered to Kyle and Gail Scarber crossed the border into Mexico. About an hour later, Gail Scarber and her daughter Crystal Reynoso crossed back into the United States on foot. Investigators believe they delivered Spencer to Mexico. And when he showed up in Acapulco two months later, investigators say he had fake identification. They didn't know it in December, but detectives found his alter ego the first day he was gone, on a piece of paper right there in the home. "It had the name Brandon Smith with a date of birth, a Texas driver's license number and an address out of Odessa, Texas," said Davis.

This preliminary hearing is expected to last two more days before a judge decides whether there's enough evidence for the Scarbers to stand trial.

On Thursday, we're expected to get to the bottom of what Spencer told CHP investigators.