El Paso man accused of murder takes stand in his own defense

El Paso, TEXAS (KVIA) -- A man accused of murder took the stand Wednesday in his own defense.

Moises Galvan is accused of shooting and killing RJ Franco, 22, outside a bar in east El Paso in January of 2017.

This is his second trial, after the first ended in a mistrial in 2019.

On Tuesday, Franco's best friend David Ortega testified they were approached by Galvan in the bar, that they stepped outside, and then he saw Galvan raise his arm and fire at Franco.

Both Franco and Ortega were shot multiple times.

Galvan -- who was 19 at the time of the shooting and is now 25 -- told the court he was scared of Ortega and Franco

because their group of friends had beat him up in 2016 to the point he needed hospital care.

Galvan testified, that, while in the parking lot, he thought they were going to kill him. Galvan said he heard someone put something to his chest and say, "It's loaded. Get him." Galvan said he took the item from Ortega, thinking it was a BB gun until it fired, adding, “Prior to the first shot going off I had no knowledge …  it was a gun.”

A bouncer for the establishment testified that he didn't see a gun on Galvan, and that Franco and Ortega were regulars and he didn't check them for weapons.

But under cross-examination, the bouncer said he did not pat down Galvan when he went into the bar.

Listen to the Borderland Crimes podcast episode about the case and what led to the mistrial.