Knight Flashcards
Please introduce yourself to the jury.
I am Detective Emilie Knight.
How old are you, Detective Knight?
I am 36 years old.
And what do you do for a living?
I have been a detective for the Lincoln Police Department since 2020.
Can you tell us about how you came to be a detective, such as what experiences and training you have obtained?
I worked as a uniformed patrol officer for 10 years after I completed the police academy and special weapons training. When I was hired by the Lincoln Police Department, they sent me to the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy for more training.
And what is your educational background?
I graduated from NMSU in 2010 with a degree in Computer Science
What sort of responsibilities have you had as a law enforcement officer in general?
As a patrol officer, I responded to calls involving situations such as automobile accidents, robberies, shorts fired, and any other felony and misdemeanor offenses. As a detective, my responsibilities are more crime scene and investigative in nature.
What specifically are your duties at a crime scene?
I oversee the collection of evidence and processing of the scene alongside the Crime Scene Unit. This includes fingerprints, photographs, and mapping out the scene.
What do you do for an investigation?
Witness interviews, evidence analysis, lab report analysis too…essentially, I have to put the pieces of evidence together to figure out what happened.
Detective Knight, have you testified in court before?
Yes, I have testified multiple times in court.
Did you receive a dispatch call on the night of May 21st, 2024?
Yes, I was dispatched to the dine- in restaurant of Geno’s Taco Truck at 10:23 pm.
Can you describe what you saw what you arrived at Geno’s Taco Truck?
In the back office at Geno’s, I saw the body of Geno Esparza slumped of his desk. He had been shot through the back of the head. And the body of his dog, Rags, was dead at his feet. Esparza was pronounced dead on the scene.
Did you process the evidence at the scene?
Yes, I determined that a crime had likely been committed. So, I walked the crime scene alongside the CSU investigators.
Did you come to any preliminary conclusions?
The office had not been ransacked and nothing had been taken. So, I concluded that no struggle had occurred and that a robbery did not take place. Surprisingly enough, there was no evidence of forced entry.
Were you able to determine how the alleged perpetrator got into the building?
I believe so. The windows were all intact and the front door was barred shut. However, the alleyway door was only locked with a keypad, allowing for keyless entry, making that the killer’s most likely entry point.
Were you able to figure out if anyone used the keypad the night of May 21st?
Yes, I ran an analysis with the Las Cruces Regional Lab, and the results contained partial fingerprints for Randy Sudo on the code box.
Can you tell us more about Mr. Sudo?
I knew the guy from around town, he does odd jobs for cash. I saw him sleeping in the back of his Pontiac a few times in parking lots. He also has a record, resisting arrest, public intoxication, and he served time for stabbing a kid years ago.
Was there any other evidence indicating Mr. Sudo was involved in this crime?
Well, Sam Cordova told me Sudo had confided in him two key details that hadn’t been released to the press. He told him that Esparza was shot with a .38 caliber revolver, and that Esparza’s dog was found dead at his feet. These details of the crime scene were only known to the police department at the time.
After receiving this information from Ms. Cordova, how did you proceed?
I immediately got a warrant to search Randy Sudo’s house.
What happened when you searched Mr. Sudo’s apartment?
I located a .38 caliber revolver and ammunition that was consistent with the projectile that the medical examiner recovered from the body of Esparza and his dog. I also found one of Benavidez’s business cards with a 5 digit number written on the back which I later confirmed was the code for Geno’s back alley door.
Did you find any other evidence when searching Mr. Sudo’s house?
Yes, I also discovered a cell phone bill.
Did you do anything with this bill?
I proceeded to get a warrant and discovered there had been text messages exchanged between Alec Benavidez and Randy Sudo for weeks leading up to Esparza’s death. Furthermore, Sudo called Benavidez on the night of the 21st for a little over 3 minutes.
Detective Knight, I’m now handing you a copy of Exhibit 11, do you recognize this document?
Yes, this is the text exchange report that the Lincoln Police Department requested on July 3rd, 2024 between Alec Benavidez and Randy Sudo.
Detective Knight, will you please read the text messages sent by Randy Sudo to Alec Benavidez on the night of Esparza’s murder, May 21st?
Yes, Mr. Sudo texted “It’s done. I made quite a mess. But it’s all sorted now”.
Could you also read the text message on May 14th starting with Randy Sudo’s message to Benavidez?
The text Mr. Sudo sent says, “Yeah, I got you. Meet me at Carly’s tomorrow round 3. Cash only. $12,000. No negotiating. Sam warned me about you. Says u r broke.”
And do you know if the defendant, Alec Benavidez ever paid Sudo the $12,000?
Well, I subpoenaed Benavidez’s financial records, and found cash withdrawals on May 15th for $7,000 from the business account and another $5,000 withdrawal from the personal account.
Following up with the defendant, did you investigation ever reveal any additional evidence that Benavidez was involved in Esparza’s death?
I had conducted interviews with people who knew the deceased, including Esparza’s wife and Pookey Thomas… I learned a lot about the rivalry between Benavidez and Esparza, which had gotten really bad and may have been a motive for what happened.
What knowledge do you have about this rivalry between Esparza and Benavidez?
It was a rivalry between the two local restaurants: Geno’s Taco Truck and La Buena Taqueria. Over the years, they’d call in the police over trivial things, like sign violations.
How often were the Lincoln police involved in this quarrel?
We were called on more than ten occasions to deal with this feud. According to Benavidez, Esparza lit his deck on fire, however there wasn’t enough proof to press charges. But the deck fire really escalated things, which led to events at Sabor on May 17th.
How did things get worse after the deck fire at La Buena Taqueria?
After the fire, Benavidez had to close his place down for several days. Then, his landlord decided to put the whole building up for sale and, wouldn’t you know, Esparza purchased it. Then, he cancelled Benavidez’s lease and had us serve Benavidez an eviction notice on May 13th.
You said that everything escalated at Sabor, can you describe the events you are referring to?
I was on duty monitoring the Plaza, and around 5 pm, pandemonium broke out when Esparza showed up at the festival stage. Benavidez lost it, they ran on stage and started screaming into the mic, “I am going to kill you!” and then proceeded to run off the stage in tears.
