LAKEPORT — One witness in the toddler-killing trial said Thursday there was a second shotgun at a party attended by both defendants the night of the shooting last spring.
Later, the second person to testify during the day claimed the co-defendants wanted to arrange a fight with the boyfriend of the mother of Skyler Rapp, the deceased 4-year-old.
Clearlake Oaks residents Paul William Braden, 22, and Orlando Joseph Lopez Jr., 24, face 15 felonies, including murder and five counts of attempted murder, and more than 30 special allegations in connection with a late-night shooting June 18 in Clearlake.
Authorities claim the two men shot at a group of people gathered for a barbecue, killing Rapp and injuring five others.
Braden and Lopez, who have denied any wrongdoing, are standing trial in the same courtroom but with different attorneys and separate juries.
The prosecution alleges that on the night of June 18, the two men left a party at the home Lopez”s brother Leonardo lived in and drove with a third man to another part of Clearlake where the fatal shooting occurred.
Two people reportedly at that party testified Thursday at the Lake County Courthouse.
Anthony Gaston, the first witness, said he brought a shotgun to Leonardo Lopez”s home around June 14 and left it there with the intention of removing it later that night.
However, the loaded, single-shot firearm remained at Leonardo Lopez”s home after June 14 and was visible during the June 18 party, according to Gaston.
Gaston testified Lopez knew where the gun was located at his brother”s residence.
While describing the June 18 party, Gaston said he observed Braden and Lopez “pretty irritated” on the phone. The prosecution alleges the person on the other line was related to Rapp.
Gaston stated Braden and Lopez then left the party and returned sometime later with Braden carrying ammunition and a shotgun different from the one already at the home.
Upon returning, the two men walked directly into the garage where Braden sawed off the butt of the shotgun and Lopez had a hand on the barrel, according to Gaston.
Under cross-examination from Lopez”s lawyer, Stephen Carter, Gaston said that Thursday was the first time he told anybody he observed Lopez touch the shotgun.
Gaston said he and his younger brother (who previously testified) left the party soon after seeing Braden with a firearm.
Matthew Klaes, 17, of Clearlake was the second witness called by Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson on Thursday.
Klaes and Gaston both testified they met Lopez several times but saw Braden for the first time on June 18.
Klaes said he and his girlfriend arrived at the party around 2 p.m. Braden and Lopez showed up there together a short time later, he added.
Soon after arriving, Lopez began arguing on the phone, according to Klaes, who later said Lopez identified the person on the other line as Ross Sparks, the boyfriend of Rapp”s mother.
Lopez told Sparks the two should “meet somewhere and handle our problems,” Klaes testified. Sparks is a shooting victim in the case.
While Lopez argued on the phone, Braden told the other partygoers he could access a gun, hide in the bushes and when the fight began, “I could pop out and start shooting,” according to Klaes.
Klaes described feeling “stunned, thinking he”s crazy,” after hearing Braden threatening to shoot people.
He said the other partygoers expressed disapproval of Braden”s plan.
About 10 to 15 minutes later, Braden and Lopez left the party briefly, Klaes said. When they returned, Braden “just walked toward us and pulled the gun out,” he added, referring to a black shotgun.
Shortly thereafter, Braden asked permission to saw off the butt of the firearm, according to Klaes. Lopez stood in the garage watching Braden alter the weapon, Klaes added.
Braden completed the task in about 15 minutes, threw the butt into a recycling bin and returned to the patio where the partygoers were gathered, Klaes said.
He testified Braden then talked about going to Sparks” house and shooting.
“He said he didn”t bring his gun over here for nothing,” Klaes said of Braden. “He was getting madder and madder.”
Klaes said he and his girlfriend soon left the party because Braden”s actions scared them.
Judge Doris L. Shockley adjourned the trial for the day before Braden”s attorney, Doug Rhoades, began his cross-examination of Klaes, who is expected to resume his testimony today at 9 a.m. in Department 1.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37. Follow trial coverage live on Twitter @JeremyDWalsh or by searching #BradenLopez.
