WOODLAND — Attorneys for Marco Antonio Topete sought a mistrial for their client — a request that was later denied — after video from his alleged victim’s patrol car led to a lengthy and emotional courtroom outburst by members of Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose “Tony” Diaz’s family.

“This is the worst outcry that I have ever seen,” veteran defense attorney Dwight Samuel told Yolo Superior Court Judge Paul Richardson this morning during a break on the trial’s first day.

Prosecutor Garrett Hamilton played the video of Diaz’s June 15, 2008, pursuit of Topete during his opening statement this morning. It showed Diaz encountering Topete — the subject of a be-on-the-lookout bulletin — in the parking lot of a Dunnigan truck stop. Topete fled as Diaz approaches his car.

A high-speed change ensued on northbound County Road 99W to County Road 5, where, Hamilton said, Diaz was shot at from behind by a .223-caliber, AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle that pierced through the deputy’s protective vest.

The video did not capture the shooting, although glass shards could be seen flying across the windshield as the bullets struck Diaz’s patrol-car windows. Afterward, a mortally injured Diaz is seen crouching in front of Topete’s abandoned vehicle — Topete’s infant daughter still inside — then running toward his own car for cover.

The loud burst of gunfire — 17 shots in less than four seconds, according to pretrial testimony — prompted wails of grief from Diaz’s family, who had started to weep when Diaz briefly appeared on the video prior to the chase. Several people rushed from the courtroom into the hallway, where at least one person’s cries gave way to screams.

Hamilton resumed his opening statement, but Richardson stopped him at one point and instructed court bailiffs to control other emotional relatives who remained in the courtroom.

The prosecutor portrayed Topete as a longtime Norteno gang member and recent parolee who had nothing to lose. In addition to his parolee status, Topete allegedly was in possession of an illegal weapon and, though Diaz didn’t know it, was believed to have been at the scene of a shooting in Woodland earlier that night.

Hamilton also suggested that, for Topete, killing a law-enforcement officer would earn him significant respect in the Norteno gang.

“When he realized Deputy Diaz wasn’t going to go away, he lured him like a predator lures his prey, to an area where he had total advantage,” Hamilton said. “In doing that, he was doing the ultimate work for the Nortenos.”

Later, Richardson admonished the jury to “disregard any display of emotion, as it may impact your judgment in the case.” He told jurors to base their decisions “on the evidence, and the evidence alone.”

Topete’s attorneys, Samuel and Hayes Gable III, are reserving their opening statement until the start of their case. Topete has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including murder with special circumstances that could bring the death penalty or life in prison without parole if he is convicted.

Read the complete story in Wednesday’s Enterprise.

— Reach Lauren Keene at [email protected] or (530) 747-8048. Follow her on Twitter @laurenkeene

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