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The trial captured the attention of the United States and even the world. News outlets including NY Daily News, ABC, NBC, Fox News and international news outlets chose to cover the story of David Barajas. David Barajas was a grieving father of two children killed by drunk driver, who was subsequently targeted for prosecution after the intoxicated driver was shot and killed.
The entire event was tragic. In December of 2012, Barajas’ truck broke down just a matter of a few yards from their home. Barajas and his two sons got out of the vehicle to push the car the short distance to their home. That was when the drunk driver, Jose Banda, plowed his car into Barajas’ two sons killing them. Banda was later found dead from a bullet that prosecutors claimed was fired by Barajas.
Sam Cammack of Your Houston Criminal Lawyers represented Mr. Barajas in a criminal trial, that on the surface was one in which Mr. Barajas could have received a long sentence. This trial took on a greater level of meaning: the necessary vindication for a man who had already experienced the worst possible punishment – the loss of his sons 12 year old David Jr. and 11 year old Caleb.
From the outset the prosecution based their case on extremely flimsy evidence. They sought to paint Mr. Barajas as a man who killed Banda in a fit of rage, but the case itself lacked true concrete evidence. The prosecution attempted to tie the murder weapon to Mr. Barajas, although Barajas and Cammack maintained repeatedly that Mr. Barajas had never owned a firearm and a forensic analysis of Barajas for gunshot residue came up negative. Moreover, at the scene of the accident Banda’s two cousins who were passengers in their vehicle fled the vehicle strangely and inexplicably and the prosecution’s own witnesses attest that shooting took place well after Banda was shot suggesting that the shooter remained at large.
In an emotional jury verdict found Barajas not guilty of all charges. Barajas and his family were able to avoid what could have been a sentence of life in prison. Sam Cammack summed up the entire in the following manner: “There are no winners here, but the jury verdict is a sign of momentary vindication for Mr. Barajas and his family after their tragic loss.”