Nov. 28—CHEYENNE — The trial of a local teenager accused of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of another teen earlier this year began Tuesday in Laramie County District Court.
After more than two hours of jury selection, assistant district attorney William Edelman made open arguments, saying that he would prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that defendant Johnny Munoz, 17, was guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Edelman argued that Munoz killed 15-year-old BayLee Carabajal-Clark “in concert” with Julian Espinoza, 16, who was driving Munoz at the time. Espinoza is also facing a conspiracy charge.
Munoz and Espinoza were allegedly in a black SUV with three other occupants during the early morning hours of April 30. Witnesses alleged that the vehicle slowed down near Lincoln Park while Carabajal-Clark’s family and friends were playing on the park’s basketball court.
Several witnesses said they saw the vehicle’s passenger side window roll down, after which they saw sparks and heard several “pop” sounds.
Opening argument
“April 30th was a big deal for a lot of people in Cheyenne,” Edelman said in his opening statement, noting that, for many local families, it was prom night.
Edelman said that Carabajal-Clark and her fraternal twin sister, MyLee, were with the Vigil family the day before BayLee Carabajal-Clark was killed. He said that the group had gone out of town for a day trip. As they were coming back, some of the younger people decided to host a barbecue at the Vigil house, less than a block from Lincoln Park.
The Carabajal-Clark sisters, their brother, Zachary Clark, and his girlfriend, Serina Vigil, organized the event. Edelman and several witnesses said that the event brought several members of their friends and family together.
Edelman said that later on that evening, as the boys were playing basketball, the group decided to move their barbecue to Lincoln Park.
As the boys played on the basketball court, Edelman described MyLee Carabajal-Clark’s recollection of the evening, where she saw a black car slow down by the court and her sister fall down, apparently shot in the head.
He described the chaos that ensued that evening as multiple people called 911 and several people present at the basketball court ran back to the nearby Vigil residence.
He described some of the evidence law enforcement uncovered when they arrived, the conduct of some officers on the scene and the evidence he would present that he claimed would prove Munoz’s guilt.
After he concluded, Munoz’s defense attorneys declined to make an opening statement.
The witnesses
The state called five witnesses on Tuesday: MyLee Carabajal-Clark, Serina Vigil, Carrieann Vigil, Jimmy Vigil and Cheyenne Police Department Officer Robert Wingeleth. Munoz’s defense, led by public defender Patricia Bennett, cross-examined each witness.
MyLee Carabajal-Clark repeatedly broke into tears when questioned by Edelman, as she described what she went through on April 29 and the next morning. She began by describing the trip with the Vigil family, then the barbecue at the residence and later the shooting at Lincoln Park.
“I remember the window going down slowly,” she said, “and then I’d just seen sparks.”
She described hearing “loud booms” and seeing her sister on the ground, with blood on her. She said that she stayed with her sister until police allowed her to be taken to the hospital, adding that she could not see inside the car and blacked out during the shooting.
“I screamed, and I grabbed her, and I told someone to call the cops,” she said. “… I only heard the first couple of (shots), and then I blacked out.”
During cross-examination, Bennett asked MyLee Carabajal-Clark to clarify where everyone was sitting when her sister died.
Bennett then asked if she or anyone else present on the basketball court possessed or consumed any marijuana or alcohol. MyLee said she did not have any knowledge of drugs or alcohol being used that night.
Edelman then called a close friend of the Carabajal-Clark twins, Serina Vigil, 18, whose statements were consistent with the other witness and Edelman.
When the SUV drove by Lincoln Park, she was on the phone with her mother, she said. “I didn’t notice it, but everyone else around me noticed it.”
She said she observed BayLee with an apparent gunshot wound in her left eye, and said that she was the one who called the police.
“I prayed over her,” she said. “It’s all I could do at the time. … In the moment, I froze, and everything just went blank.”
Edelman later called her mother, Carrieann Vigil. She said that Serina Vigil asked her to go to Lincoln Park around 11:15 or 11:30 p.m. on the night of April 29.
The phone call described by both witnesses took place a few minutes after midnight, she said. Carrieann Vigil added that, as she began getting ready for bed, she went to lock her front door and heard “pop” sounds coming from the park. She saw several of the teens that were at her house for the barbecue running back to the house. She remembered one shouting, “They’re shooting at us,” as they ran back to her home.
She went to Lincoln Park, and stayed their with her daughter and MyLee and BayLee Carabajal-Clark until the police let them leave for the hospital.
Her husband, Jimmy Vigil, was mostly questioned by Edelman about his home security system, from which law enforcement obtained footage.
He said that he provided some video to law enforcement, but declined to give them footage of the earlier barbecue, which he deemed irrelevant. Later, law enforcement came back with a warrant for the remaining footage they had requested.
During cross-examination, Jimmy Vigil had a lengthy exchange with Munoz’s other public defender, David Korman. Korman asked him if he was aware of any guns present on the teens at his barbecue. Korman said that Jimmy Vigil had previously told police that he saw one of the teen boys at his home with a gun. On the witness stand, Jimmy Vigil denied this, saying that he only assumed and did not see any guns.
Korman got him to confirm that law enforcement served a warrant at his home, where they seized a pistol that he said he had yet to get back and received no other information on. Edelman also noted to the jury that they had no gun as evidence for the case.
The video
The day’s final witness was Cheyenne Police Department Officer Robert Wingeleth. Wingeleth described his patrol route that evening, which was in the area near Lincoln Park. He said he heard what he thought were gunshots from near Destiny Church and proceeded in that direction. On the way there, he saw a black SUV heading away from the area that had been driving with its lights off.
He described stopping the vehicle, which he later found out was occupied by Espinoza and Munoz. Edelman admitted Wingeleth’s body camera footage as evidence, which he played for the jury.
In the video, Wingeleth can be seen stopping the vehicle a few blocks from Lincoln Park. Still unsure about what happened, he asked Espinoza to step out of the vehicle and approach him with his hands up. Espinoza can be seen saying that he was headed back from prom. He also repeatedly asked the officer what he should do during the interaction.
After receiving an emergency alert, Wingeleth tells the five occupants of the vehicle, “I gotta go.” They asked him what to do, to which he replied, “Go home.”
Wingeleth is seen telling dispatch, “I’m going to let this vehicle go,” and departs for Lincoln Park.
When questioned, he said that he did not ask for any names of the vehicle’s occupants during the stop. He added that, at the time, reports were that the shooters were traveling in a red SUV, which played into his decision to let them go.
To Edelman, he identified Munoz at the defense table based on this interaction, which Laramie County District Judge Catherine Rogers deemed sufficient evidence to prove Munoz’s presence.
After Wingeleth was cross-examined, the trial adjourned for the day. Testimony was scheduled to resume Wednesday, and the trial is expected to continue into next week.
Samir Knox is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s criminal justice and public safety reporter. He can be reached by email at sknox@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3152. Follow him on Twitter at @bySamirKnox.