A Lebanon County jury heard opening statements Tuesday morning in the murder trial of Juan Delgado, who is accused of fatally shooting Jean Ortiz on the afternoon of March 9, 2023.
Delgado, 33, is accused of shooting Ortiz, 30, twice in the neck as he sat with his wife on his front porch at 915 Lehman St., Lebanon.
Prosecutors allege that Delgado drove to the Ortiz home shortly after a physical altercation between his sister and the decedent’s wife and fired two rounds at close range into Ortiz’s neck. He died on the sidewalk, cradled by his wife.
Jurors heard prosecution and defense opening statements Tuesday morning in the courtroom of Lebanon County President Judge John C. Tylwalk.
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf is seeking a first-degree murder conviction, but not the death penalty.
In her opening statement, Hess Graf painted a straightforward sequence of events and implied that the murder was the result of a family feud.
The decedent’s wife, on foot, and the defendant’s sister, driving her car, got into an argument while the car was stopped for a red light at the intersection of 9th and Lehman streets. The decedent’s wife struck the defendant’s sister in the face as she sat in her vehicle.
About an hour later, according to the prosecutor, Delgado emerged on foot from a nearby alley, walked up to Ortiz as he sat with his wife on the porch, fired the two fatal shots, and ran off. Ortiz died his wife’s arms.
The shooting was caught by surveillance camera, and Hess Graf said the victim’s wife would identify Delgado as the shooter, and that her identification would be corroborated by the victim’s clothing, a tattoo, and surveillance video showing his truck nearby at the time of the shooting.
In his opening, Assistant Public Defender Michael Light told the jury that Delgado was not the shooter. Instead, he accused William Alex Ramos-Rivas, boyfriend of the defendant’s sister, of killing Ortiz.
Light said he would show that Ramos-Rivas initially confessed to the crime, later changing his story. Light added that the 9mm handgun believed to be the murder weapon was found in Ramos-Rivas’ possession, and that his – not the defendant’s – DNA was found on it.
Tuesday morning testimony began with responding EMT Sydney Cottle describing the shooting scene and the futile attempts to revive Ortiz as he lay on the sidewalk.
Forensic pathologist Edward Mazuchowski, who performed an autopsy, described the two bullet wounds to the neck, and stated that they severed Ortiz’s aorta, likely causing “death within seconds.”
The highlight of the morning session was the testimony of Ortiz’s wife of eight years, Roseann, who admitted to her involvement in the altercation at the traffic light and her dislike for Delgado’s sister, known as “Flaca.”
Asked to describe seeing her husband being fatally shot, she often buried her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.
Roseann Ortiz told the jury that she was sitting on the porch behind her husband when “I saw him walk up from the side alley.” Standing inches away, she said Delgado said to her husband, “te hablé de mi familia” – I told you about my family – then opened fire and ran off.
Roseann Ortiz said she was “100% positive” that the shooter was Delgado, even though he wore a raised hoodie and a “COVID mask” that partially obscured his face.
Roseann added that she called the defendant later that night and he told her “I’m coming after you next.”
In addition to criminal homicide, Delgado-Rodriguez is charged with two felony firearms offenses. He has been held without bail in the Lebanon County Correctional Facility since his arrest the day after the killing.
The trial is expected to continue on Wednesday and possibly extend into Thursday.
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