Jason Mares, then 17, and his friend’s neighbor, Joey Casias , had been following a suspected car burglar at a condo complex in Covina the night of Dec. 21, 2021 when things took a deadly turn. There was a fight.
The man, Trevor Thompson , also had a gun. Casias, 38, would not come home that night. Mares, now 20, testified Thursday, Dec.
12, during the trial of Thompson in the fatal shooting of Casias. The trial started Tuesday at Pomona Superior Court. Mares said he turned a corner and saw Thompson, in a fighter stance.
Mares asked if he was really going to assault a minor. Thompson told him, “I don’t care”. Thompson swung at the teen who ducked, then hit his opponent in the face, Mares said.
“He kinda falls or stumbles and puts his hands along my waist with his head on my left side,” Mares said, adding he got Thompson in a headlock. “The defendant (Thompson) bites my right thumb. That’s when Joey knees him,” Mares said.
Seconds later, Mares heard a gunshot. He ran and heard three more shots. Thompson, 37, has been charged with murder, two counts of assault with a firearm and two counts of possession of a firearm by a narcotic addict.
Mares and other witnesses for the prosecution who testified earlier this week recounted what happened Dec. 21, 2021 in a Covina neighborhood. What started with a stranger seen rummaging inside a parked BMW ended with a confrontation, fight and shooting at a condo complex.
Jurors, so far, have also heard the 911 call, an intervi.
