Murder defense: Judge is unfair

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A strategic complaint interrupted a Fresno County murder trial Thursday.

"You allow evidence without foundation like that videotape she didn't make to come in," defense attorney Ty Kharazi said as he angrily addressed a judge. His client has a history of violence against women, but the lawyer is focusing his attack on the judge.

The women in Gabriel Rosiles' life have not had it good. He did have his girlfriend's name tattooed on his neck, but when he was arrested for her murder the arrest was the sixth time he was accused of a violent crime, most of them domestic.

Evidence shows Michelle Jimenez was beaten to death in 2012. It happened in the same home where her father and brother had been accused of a double murder a month earlier.

Jimenez, was found beaten to death in her bathroom, but Rosiles wasn't there when sheriff's deputies arrived and his attorney questions whether they arrested the right man.

"Is there any item of evidence to which you can point that directly connects Gabriel Rosiles to the murder of Michelle Jjimenez?" Kharazi asked a crime scene investigator who collected evidence but wasn't in charge of analyzing most of it.

Investigators collected weapons -- like a gun and a bat -- as well as clothes -- like underwear belonging to Jimenez. A left shoe found on the floor could also be a critical clue. Investigators say it may match the bloody right shoeprint found on a mattress cover in the house.

"You can see the bottom portion of the sole is a circular pattern and they look similar," said Fresno County sheriff's office crime scene investigator Kristal Buckley.

The mood of the trial heated up when the jury left the courtroom. Rosiles' attorney complained that Judge Arlan Harrell wasn't being fair.

"They make a record, sure make whatever record you want," Kharazi said, referring to the prosecutor, Billy Terrence. "I try to make a record, you have no time for me. I want the court to give us an equal chance. If the court feels he can't, respectfully, I ask for a mistrial."

The judge denied that mistrial motion. ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi tells me Judge Harrell is widely respected and seems very fair to all sides. He said the complaint is most likely just a defense strategy.

Another strategy will be to argue Rosiles wasn't even there. He admitted he found Jimenez dead, but was gone by the time his family called 911.

On Friday, his mother and brother are expected to explain what they saw and how they got there.