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YOUNGSTOWN -- A victim in two separate shootings testified Wednesday his troubles began when he went to help translate for a friend of the family in mid-May 2020.
The victim, Jose Vasquez Rodriguez, took most of the morning to talk about being shot in the leg outside his father's East Side home and then weeks later being shot at as he drove on the South Side taking a 44-year-old woman to work. Rodriguez pointed out defendant Juan Laviena as the shooter in both incidents.
Laviena, 71, of Garfield Street, faces three counts of felonious assault, domestic violence, failure to comply with the order of a police officer, violation of a protection order and aggravated menacing. The trial is expected to continue today with more state testimony in the courtroom of Mahoning Common Pleas Judge Anthony Donofrio.
Rodriguez, a native of Puerto Rico who moved to Youngstown in 2009, told the jury things began to happen to him after he was called May 13, 2020, by a relative to help a woman who was dealing with police at the corner of Pasedena and South avenues.
"It's been like a bad dream after that day," Rodriguez said, testifying he then began seeing a man who he identified as Laviena regularly after that incident. "I started to see him drive down my street."
TWO SHOTS
On May 16, 2020, Rodriguez said he went to eat dinner at the Bennington Avenue home of his father and stepmother. After getting into his Dodge that was parked in the driveway, he testified hearing two shots ring out shortly after starting the car.
"I heard pow-pow, and I thought it was me," Rodriguez said, explaining that he was carrying a Smith and Wesson 9mm firearm in a side holster. "But it was not, since the safety was on."
When he tried to get out of the car, Rodriguez testified he fell to the ground. He told defense attorney Nick Cerni that he noticed two bullet holes in the side of the Dodge and realized he was shot.
While he was still on the ground, Rodriguez said he saw a short man running down the street get into a white car and drive past him. The witness pointed out to jurors that this man was Laviena.
Rodriguez, who had been shot in the upper left leg, was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where doctors said the bullet went through his lower torso.
"The bullet is still inside," Rodriguez said.
WEEKS LATER
More than two weeks later on June 2, Laviena said he went to an East Phliadelphia Avenue home to take to work the same woman for whom he he had translated.
As he arrived at the Philadelphia Avenue home, Rodriguez testified he saw Laviena sitting in a different vehicle that was parked a few houses away.
After the woman got into the car with him, Rodriguez said he looked into the rearview mirror and noticed the defendant was following them.
As the vehicle approached South Avenue, Rodriguez said he looked in the mirror to see the defendant pointing a gun at him. Again he said he heard two shots. This time, Rodriguez said he took out his gun, rolled down the window and fired his gun in the air twice.
"The car behind me just stopped and turned around," Rodriguez told jurors.
Then, the man said he saw a police officer along South Avenue, and he got out of his car to run to him and report the shooting. Police, according to reports, chased down the vehicle going at speeds between 45 and 70 mph, with the chase ending on West Delason Avenue. The driver then fled the car on foot, while holding something, the report states. Police officers later tackled him after chasing him through a field, arresting him on Willis Avenue. But the report states officers could not find whatever was in his hand.
DISCREPANCIES
During cross examination, Cerni pointed out a few discrepancies with what Rodriguez had testified to Wednesday and what he told police, and his statements during a preliminary hearing on June 23, 2021, in Youngstown Municipal Court. Cerni played a video of Rodriguez demonstrating in a police interview that he was shooting behind him, rather than in the air when he was being followed on East Philadelphia Avenue. Rodriguez denied that his motions were different in the two testimonies.
As for the other discrepancies, the witness blamed his memory.
"It's hard to know everything after one-and-a-half years have passed," he told the defense attorney. "I've tried to remember everything as best as I can."
Laviena, who speaks Spanish, used a court-certified interpreter to listen to the testimony. Jail records show he has remained in custody pending the posting of a $200,000 bond.
Donofrio had told jurors he expects the trial to be completed by Friday.