Private investigator testifies in trial of man accused of killing El Paso Sheriff’s deputy

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Day six of the murder trial of Facundo Chávez, the man accused of killing El Paso Sheriffs Deputy Peter Herrera, continued Wednesday with witness testimony from private investigators.

Chavez is accused of the murder of Deputy Herrera during a traffic stop in 2019.

The defense called its first witness of Wednesday, Hector Gimenez, Private Investigator.

Investigator talks about tracking Herrera's movements on the days leading up to the shooting.

GPS in his car showed Herrera went to Chavez’s girlfriend and passenger at the time or the shooting, Arlene Pinas’ fathers house on March 12.

On that day it was said a dispute between Chávez and Pina led to deputies being called.

Jose Aguilar, another Private Investigator, testified on the evidence of what was found in Deputy Herreras phone.

The defense has previously made a claim in trial that Herrera was trying to get Pina to work for the Sheriffs office as a Confidential Informant to get more information on Chávez.

Investigators found photos of Pinas Identification, and photos of a laptop screen that provide information on Pina and Chávez.

Text messages sent to “Narcomax,” the El Paso Narcotics Unit, were also presented.

The prosecution later came back and presented another text message, written similarly about another person and made the argument that this type of message isn’t uncommon for deputies to send.

Before going to break Francisco Pina, Arlene Pinas father, testified.

Questioned by defense, Pina said he never saw Deputy Herrera at his house from on March 12 to the 22.

Pina claimed he was sleeping when deputies were called to his home. 

He also said he doesn’t recall meeting with investigators about Herrera following the shooting.