Trial begins for Fresno man accused of shooting baby in head

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A bench trial began on Thursday for the Fresno man accused of shooting a 10-month-old baby who was inside a car with her mother back in June of 2019.

The girl survived but had to endure brain surgery to remove bullet fragments and faced a difficult recovery.

In a shirt and tie, Marcos Echartea appeared before a judge for the start of his trial.

The 27-year-old is accused of firing a gun into a car three times in central Fresno back in 2019.

One bullet went through the driver's side window and hit a 10-month-old Fayth in the head while she was sitting in her mother's lap.

Body camera video played in court showed an officer tending to the seriously injured baby.

In the video, you hear the officer say, "The baby is breathing the baby is crying...stay calm."

Earlier that night at a party near Hammond and Millbrook, prosecutors say Echartea took interest in Fayth's mother and made romantic advances.

The mom got away, but he found her again.

She decided to grab her sleeping daughter and leave quickly with her friend.

Police say Echartea couldn't handle rejection, so he shot at the mother inside the car.

Surveillance video captured the gunfire.

Detective Rodney Zumkehr responded to the scene that night -- he was caring for the child until paramedics arrived.

"I remember her being so alert and grabbing one of Officer Solarios' fingers and she was kind of slipping in and out of consciousness. She was just so impossibly alive," Zumkehr said.

The baby girl made an incredible recovery after being shot. Now prosecutors are working to hold Echartea accountable.

Fresno County Deputy District Attorney Jenny Volanti said, "The evidence in this case will show the defendant was in the same clothes as he was wearing at the party, he had gunshot residue."

But during opening statements, the defense attorney began trying to poke holes in the account of what happened that night.

Defense Attorney Jane Bolger said, "Marcos was incredibly intoxicated, the bathroom incident he denies and she says happened but there's no one else to tip the scales."

The victim's family was not in court today, but her mother testified during the preliminary hearing back in 2020.