Lopez Retrial: Border Patrol agent’s ‘left eye was destroyed,’ firefighter tells jury

El Paso Police officers and firefighters who responded to the deadly stabbing of an off-duty Border Patrol agent testified Tuesday in the retrial of the man accused of killing the federal agent.

This is the second trial for Hisaias Justo Lopez for the stabbing death of 30-year-old Isaac Morales. It happened on May 20, 2017 outside the Union Draft House, which is located in the 12000 block of Tierra Este in Far East El Paso. A mistrial was declared in April 2018 when a jury could not reach a verdict based on evidence provided. Lopez is charged with Murder.

Testifying Monday, the slain agent’s wife, Yasmi Gonzalez, said Morales showed Lopez his Border Patrol badge during an argument outside the bar. The woman said Lopez swatted the badge out of Morales’ hand, then pulled out a knife and threatened to kill the agent. During a foot pursuit, Lopez allegedly stabbed Morales in the eye. The Border Patrol agent died from his injuries four days after he was stabbed.

“I noticed his left eye was destroyed. He had lacerations on his chin,” El Paso Firefighter Robert Mendoza testified Tuesday, “With the eye, the only thing we could do was cover it.”

The firefighter told the jury Morales was “posturing,” which indicates brain damage. “They tried using straws to secure his airway and a tube was inserted through the nose to pull his tongue so it didn’t fall back. He was breathing deeply and quickly,” Mendoza recalled.

In court Tuesday, a police officer picked up two separate blood-stained knives to show the jury, as the prosecution asked him to do so. The officer recounted finding one of the weapons near a daycare, the other near a gas station in the same parking lot as the Union Draft House.

Prosecutors also showed security footage of the incident showing a bouncer from Union Draft House helping pin down Lopez, along with Carlos Lopez, a mutual friend of Morales. The bouncer, who identified himself as Mr. Jordan – is 6’4 and weighed about 305 pounds at the time of the stabbing. Jordan told the jury he had a difficult time subduing Lopez.

Another police officer who testified Tuesday told the jury officers had a hard time taking Lopez into custody. “Takes four of us to finally put handcuffs on him,” said Officer Santillan, “I struggled.”

Lopez’s defense attorneys argue their client acted in self-defense when he stabbed the federal agent in the eye. Monday, the defense showed screenshots from a surveillance camera at a nearby gas station. The images were recorded moments before the stabbing.

In the photos, you can see Morales and one of his friends following Lopez as Lopez walks away. The defense claimed Morales punched Lopez.