Witness: Victim in 7-Eleven shooting engaged in fight - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

Document text

Witness: Victim in 7-Eleven shooting engaged in fight Bradley Robert Quillen Tuesday Feb 28, 2017 at 7:54 PM Feb 28, 2017 at 9:40 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat The fight outside a 7-Eleven in Phoenix last spring that ended with a man dead in the middle of South Pacific Highway was started by the victim, according to witness testimony in the second day of his accused murderer's trial. Why Miguel Angel Delfin, 23, took the first swing was unknown, but surveillance footage and witness testimony Tuesday revealed more details about the April 1, 2016, fight that ended when Bradley Robert Quillen allegedly shot Delfin dead in the street in front of the convenience store. Quillen's lawyers seek to prove Quillen was acting in self-defense in allegedly firing the shot, while prosecutors intend to argue gang activity, court documents indicate. What's known is that Delfin had a large rock roughly the size of a soup can in his pocket when his body was found in the highway. Adrian Rodriguez, who was with Quillen at the convenience store in the moments leading up to the fatal shooting, said Delfin menaced them with the rock, though the fight started with Rodriguez for reasons he didn't know. Rodriguez said he was surprised to see aggression in Delfin's eyes when he went to say hello at the store. "I thought we were cool," Rodriguez said. "There was just something in his eyes — he didn't seem right." Delfin took a swing at Rodriguez that connected, knocking him down in front of the store, surveillance footage inside the store showed. On the witness stand, Rodriguez claimed he "aggressively backpedaled" into traffic, and that Delfin "was closing up on us, quick."  Detective Gabe Burchfield with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office estimated Quillen was 57 feet away from Delfin when he allegedly fired the shot, determined by triangulating Human Bean surveillance footage of the shooting. Delfin's mother, Belinda McCurdy, said her son had begun staying with her the previous night while she recovered from surgery. Delfin had left for the store to buy tampons for his girlfriend, she said. Quillen's mood in the moments after the shooting was unclear. Gladys Diarte, Quillen's girlfriend, said she didn't remember prior statements she'd made to investigators. "Does it not stick out for you?" Deputy District Attorney Virginia Greer asked Diarte about the night of the shooting. "No it doesn't," Diarte said, adding that his behavior wasn't off.  Diarte did, however, admit she poured a bottle of Lysol disinfectant on the clothes between the shooting and Quillen's capture after 9 p.m. When pressed on the matter, Diarte attempted to "plead the fifth" before Greer reminded Diarte that she's not on trial. — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.