INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Defense testimony is slated to last all next week in the trial of an ex-Riverside County sheriff’s deputy accused of gunning down a man with whom he was at odds because the victim had been involved with the lawman’s then-girlfriend.
Oscar Rodriguez, 44, is charged with first-degree murder and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the 2014 slaying of 39-year-old Luis Carlos Morin of Coachella.
The prosecution rested its case in the three-week trial on Thursday, after which the defense summoned its first witness, who testified before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling sent jurors home for the weekend. The defense is scheduled to summon additional witnesses throughout the coming week, after which the prosecution is expected to proceed with rebuttal testimony at the Larson Justice Center in Indio…