Jury Begins Deliberations In Trial For Warsaw Man Accused Of Shooting Person
By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews
Daniel Romero
WARSAW — The jury in a trial for a Warsaw man accused of shooting a person who was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital for their injuries started its deliberations during the late afternoon hours on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
Daniel Romero, 41, 1861 N. Vicky Lane, Warsaw, is charged with burglary resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 1 felony; and burglary with a deadly weapon, a level 2 felony.
State’s Additional Evidence
Prior to Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Sobek calling his first witness of the day, one of the jurors was called into court after alerting the court’s bailiff that she recognized the child who testified on Monday, Oct. 6. The juror said she had not recognized the child’s name when it was read aloud in court but recognized them when she saw their face.
The juror also told the court she never had any one-on-one interaction with the child and would remain fair and impartial with all the presented evidence. Defense Attorney Nikos Nakos requested the juror be dismissed, but this motion was denied by the court. Following this, Nakos ruled for a mistrial, which was also denied.
The state’s first witness of the day was the woman who was in the residence at the time of the shooting. She said she had previously been in a relationship with Romero for five years, describing it as a “tough” relationship. The woman said she and Romero broke up a couple weeks before the shooting occurred.
In her testimony, the woman said her two children spent the evening of Dec. 21, 2024, with Romero while she went to work. While Romero brought her to work, the woman said a friend from work brought her home and that she did not ask Romero to come get her. The man who was allegedly shot by Romero came over to the woman’s house about an hour after she finished her shift. She said she and the victim were just friends at that time.
When asked by Sobek about communication she had in the evening hours with Romero, the woman said Romero was texting and calling her “back-to-back,” but that she didn’t respond to him. She estimated Romero called her 15 times.
In recalling the shooting incident, the woman said she and the victim were watching television when she heard a vehicle brake fast near her residence. The woman told the jury she rushed to her home’s front door but that it “came flying” at her, with the deadbolt being taken out and the door’s trim being damaged. She said Romero entered the home and tried to hit her with a “really big” wrench while the shooting victim attempted to de-escalate the situation.
The woman also said she got in between the man and Romero during the fight and recalled being kicked in the head by who she believed to be the man while the fight occurred.
The woman said she thought Romero was leaving when he turned and shot the man in the shoulder. She said Romero told her, “Look at what you made me do” after he shot the man.
Pictures of the man’s wounds were submitted as evidence to the jury.
In cross-examination, Nakos asked the woman about receiving text messages from Romero on Dec. 22, 2024, but not reading them until the following day. The woman said she ultimately deleted the messages because she didn’t want to see his face or name. He also presented her with evidence that Romero only called her nine times, with the woman saying she felt like it was 15.
Nakos also asked the woman about a conversation she had with Romero around lunchtime on Dec. 21, 2024. The woman said she and Romero talked about her kids and that Romero offered her a ride to work. She testified that Romero kissed her on the cheek without her permission when he dropped her off, but also said she may have led Romero on about getting back in a relationship with him.
In further cross-examination, the woman said she couldn’t recall if Romero’s gun had been dislodged from a holster or belt, and told the jury she did not try to grab the gun.
The second witness was the shooting victim, who said he knew the woman from work and that he entered a relationship with her in mid-December 2024. He testified that he didn’t know Romero prior to the shooting, which he described as “happening fast … like something out of a movie.”
He said he and the woman were hanging out at the woman’s home watching television when he saw Romero kick the door down and swing a wrench at the woman.
The man told the jury he asked Romero to “chill” and calm down when Romero pulled out a gun, hitting him in the head with it and then shooting it. He recalled blood dripping into his face and that he was extremely thirsty after he was shot.
The man said he had two surgeries on his left shoulder, where he was shot, and that additional medical procedures are being considered. He showed the jury scars from his bullet wound and said his shoulder “will never be the same.”
In cross-examination, the man said the woman never got between himself and Romero, and that he never kicked anyone. He also couldn’t recall if Romero’s firearm was in a holster or waistband, but said neither he nor the woman touched the gun.
Both the man and woman also said they were fully clothed prior to the shooting.
The state’s third witness was Warsaw Police Department Lieutenant Ryan Coble, who was the lead detective on the case. Multiple pictures were submitted as evidence, including images of wood on the floor near the residence’s door frame, the door’s busted trim, blood on a couch, a cartridge casing, and a wrench just inside the front door.
With the blood on the couch, Coble noted law enforcement found a bone fragment from the man. The spent bullet was located inside a pillow on the couch.
Coble said police obtained a search warrant for Romero’s vehicle and found the gun allegedly used in the incident. He testified that Romero told police where the gun was at.
Two months after the shooting, law enforcement searched the woman’s cellphone, discovering nine phone calls and two texts from Romero to the woman.
In cross-examination, Coble said it could have been possible someone else used Romero’s phone to communicate with the woman, and that Romero was cooperative with police when he was taken into custody.
Sobek’s final witness on behalf of the state was Warsaw Police Officer Alvaro Aguillon-Beltran, who was one of the first officers at the scene. Body camera footage from the officer was played in court, which depicted the woman applying pressure to the man’s head, with the man eventually being escorted from the residence by medics for treatment.
Following Aguillon-Beltran’s testimony, Sobek rested the state’s case.
Romero Testifies
Nakos called Romero as the defense’s first witness. Romero said he and the woman had been in a relationship for five years, getting engaged the third year into their relationship. He described himself as a father figure to the woman’s two children, with one of the children texting and then calling Romero on Dec. 21, 2024, to ask if they could spend the night.
Romero said he agreed to this, with the woman then contacting him and asking if Romero could bring her to work. Prior to this, Romero, the woman, and her two children had lunch together. Romero told the jury he and the woman discussed their relationship together and the possibility of reconciling.
When he dropped her off for work, Romero said he kissed and hugged the woman, who allegedly told Romero to pay attention to his phone because she needed a ride home.
He said one of the woman’s children used his phone to communicate with their mother via Snapchat while she was working. At one point, Romero said he asked the child to contact their mother on Snapchat to ask her about work. Romero told the jury he became worried and concerned when the woman stopped responding to messages on her phone. He told the child to get dressed and to come with him to check on the woman.
Romero said he went to the woman’s house first since it was closer to him than her place of employment. He noticed a vehicle parked at the residence and when he went to the front door, saw the woman on top of the man while the man’s pants were down.
“I felt hurt, betrayed, played … angry,” said Romero.
After this, Romero testified that he pushed the front door open with his shoulder and confronted them, saying, “Really … this is why you stuck me with the kids?”
He said a fight then began, with the man kicking Romero twice. During the second kick, Romero recalled seeing the gun that had previously been on his person in a holster on the couch. He said he and the woman went to grab the firearm at the same time and that it went off while they were fighting for control over it.
Romero said he panicked, grabbing the gun and leaving the area in his vehicle. The woman’s child was in the vehicle and asked what happened. Romero told the child the woman was okay and drove them to his brother’s house. He said he was nervous and had “never been involved in something like this once in my life.” Romero recalled throwing up and having a panic attack, then cutting his hair since it was past his shoulders. He said he did this because of seeing content in films where men with long hair are treated poorly in prison.
While at his brother’s home, Romero’s sister contacted his brother and said police were at their parents’ home looking for Romero. Upon hearing this, Romero said he immediately left to go to his parents’ house and was taken into custody shortly after.
When asked about the wrench he was allegedly in possession of, Romero said a wrench was always kept near the front door at the woman’s home because the locks were bad. He told the jury it wasn’t his wrench.
In cross-examination, when asked about the phone calls he made to the woman, Romero said he had no idea who made those calls. Sobek said the child, woman, and shooting victim all testified that Romero was holding a wrench when he entered the home, and asked Romero if they were all lying. Romero said they were.
Nakos called Coble as the defense’s second and final witness, asking Coble about phone examinations. Coble said he did not inspect Romero’s phone.
Closing Arguments
In his closing argument, Sobek described the case as “straightforward,” noting the woman’s child “knew something was wrong, they could sense it.” He said the child saw Romero break open the residence’s front door while holding a wrench.
“This was really about control,” said Sobek. “His anger built and built and built … through this insult of ignoring him.”
Nakos said the state failed to prove Romero guilty of each essential element beyond a reasonable doubt, asking the jury to instead find Romero guilty of residential entry, a lesser included offense of what he’s charged with. He questioned the alleged intent Romero had in committing a felony while at the woman’s residence and also noted inconsistencies between the woman and shooting victim’s testimonies.
“If Daniel Romero is such a dangerous man, why in the world would a mother of two allow her children to spend the night with him?” asked Nakos.
He also asked the jury to consider why there was no blood on Romero’s gun if he used it to hit the man’s head, and why Romero’s phone was not checked by law enforcement.
“That all creates reasonable doubt,” said Nakos.
In his final statement, Sobek said this was not a “whodunnit” case.
“Daniel Romero told us it was his gun,” said Sobek. “He was angry, furious, and where he shouldn’t have been. (The damage to the door) tells us where his head was at … he went in there to mess some stuff up and he did. Everything that happened is a result of him going in there.”