The Emporia Gazette

May 28, 2012

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A 911 call to report the shooting of Omar G. Flores opened testimony Tuesday morning at the felony murder trial of Samuel Llamas.

Llamas is charged with aiding and abetting, criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle, and felony murder in conjunction with the shooting on Sept. 8, 2009, of Omar G. Flores, 25.

Flores died in a Kansas City hospital three days later.

The trial began after a full day of voir dire on Monday to select a jury panel.

“Omar Flores was killed because of a drug debt,” said Assistant Lyon County Attorney Amy Aranda, before describing a scenario of contentiousness between Flores and several of Llamas’ friends.

One of them — Ismael (Mike) Novarro — is alleged to have traveled by train to Los Angeles to bring back a $2,000 supply of methamphetamine, which he delivered to Flores on July 4, 2009, she said.

Aranda described animosity between the men because Flores did not pay Novarro for the meth.

“And the deal was that Omar Flores was supposed to flip this methamphetamine, or sell it, quickly and he was supposed to pay back Mike Novarro approximately $4,000,” Aranda said.

Novarro has not been charged in the case.

Flores’ associate, a man named Matt Miller who lived near Ottawa, was supposed to be Flores’ “money man,” she said.

“Omar realized the methamphetamine wasn’t any good,” Aranda said. “He couldn’t sell it on the street, and he refused to pay.”

Aranda said the jury would hear how a tightly knit group of Novarro’s friends, who lived at or frequently visited 207 Constitution St., would testify about the numerous calls made to Flores’ telephone in an effort to talk to him about the drug debt.

“In the days following the July 4th transaction, you’ll see that Mike Novarro made numerous phone calls to Omar Flores and that Omar ignored him,” Aranda said. “You’ll also hear on July 12 that (prosecution witness) Ruby Camarena and Mike Novarro made a trip to Matt Miller’s house outside of Ottawa ... to find out where Omar was. Omar had skipped out of town, so to speak. He’d gone to stay with Faith Johnson’s parents in Basehor, Kan., and he would come back to Emporia, in and out, not very often.”

Aranda said testimony also shows that Samuel Llamas was aware of Flores’ debt to Novarro and that Llamas had taken on the persona of the Los Angeles drug source in a phone call to Miller, stating that he was from California and that the methamphetamine was his dope.

“He either wanted his money or he wanted Omar and if he didn’t get it there were going to be problems,” Aranda said.

Flores continued to avoid Novarro until he returned to Emporia and was seen at a house at Ninth Avenue and Sunnyslope Street early on the evening of Sept. 8, 2009.

At that time, Novarro stormed out of his house with a .22 caliber rifle, picked up Samuel Llamas in a silver Honda Civic, located Flores and followed him to the Rodeway Inn, where the shooting took place.

About three minutes after the 911 call about the shooting came in, surveillance video at a nearby convenience store shows Llamas and Novarro walking inside nonchalantly, Aranda said. Novarro left, while Llamas stayed about 10 minutes, playing a game.

Indigents’ Defense Services senior trial attorney Mark A. Manna, who is representing Llamas, said that testimony would show that Llamas had been drinking beer at a cousin’s house after he got off work and that Novarro had come by to see if Llamas wanted to go with him to get some beer.

The men did not stop at a liquor store, Manna said. Novarro saw Flores’ SUV and followed it to the motel.

“Now, the evidence will show Mr. Llamas was unaware of (the extent) of the problems,” Manna said.

Novarro got out of the car to go to Flores and Llamas rolled up the car window and listened to the radio. The conversation between Flores and Novarro became heated.

“All of a sudden, bam!” Manna said. “Rapid shots. Mr. Llamas panics, opens the door of that sedan and runs.”

As he was running, Manna said, Llamas saw a woman and told her to call 911.

Manna said that at the convenience store, Novarro showed up and threatened Llamas.

“Mr. Novarro said, ‘You’d better not tell anyone what happened.’”

Llamas’ cousin picked him up from the convenience store later.

“... (H)e had no idea until afterwards that Mr. Flores had been killed,” Manna said. “He was scared. He didn’t know what was going on. ... And he was terrified of what Mr. Novarro would do to him if (he) talked.”

The 911 call

The first testimony presented to the jury was a recording of the 911 call that came into the Emporia Police Department dispatch center at 8:11:26 p.m. on Sept. 8, 2009. The call ended slightly more than 10 minutes later, at 8:21:48 p.m.

Sonny Patel, owner of the motel, had made the initial call to dispatch. Having difficulties making himself understood by the dispatcher, Patel soon turned over the telephone to a passerby in the parking lot, Ron Wright, who relayed questions and answers from the dispatcher to Patel.

Wright said that Patel said that he had seen a silver Honda Civic, five or six years old, with two or three men. One of the men ran to a maroon vehicle after the shooting and drove away headed east, the same direction the Civic headed.

The dispatcher told Wright to go to the Flores vehicle to see what was inside.

“There is somebody in the vehicle, I can see that,” Wright’s voice was heard telling the dispatcher. Wright, about 30 feet from the white GMC Suburban, was told by the dispatcher to go closer to the SUV.

“I’m at the vehicle. They’re slouched over, they’re moving their left arm, but they are slouched over the console of the vehicle,” Wright’s voice told the dispatcher. “... He’s conscious but he’s moaning very, very loudly and he’s bleeding profusely from the mouth. I would say it’s pretty serious.”

Officers arrive

Several police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians testified about their roles at the scene of the shooting.

Police Officer Bill Ross said that when he arrived at the motel parking lot, he recognized the Suburban as belonging to Omar Flores. He saw someone slumped behind the driver’s wheel.

“When I opened the door of the passenger side to get in, I recognized the person who was shot as Omar Flores, and he was bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth,” Ross said. “I didn’t try to move him because of that. ... He was trying to speak, but he was aspirating so much blood that I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.”

Ross testified that he stayed with Flores, trying to keep him from moving, until the EMTs arrived.

Ross taped off the crime scene and began knocking on doors, looking for someone who might have seen the incident.

Detective Kelly R. Davis testified that he had recovered nine shell casings from the .22 caliber rifle. No bullet was found inside the vehicle.

EPD Officer Jeff Eubank said that he interviewed Patel at the scene the night of the shooting.

Patel told Eubank that the Flores Suburban had driven into the parking lot and that the silver Honda had driven into the parking lot at a high speed about two minutes later.

After the argument and the popping sounds, Patel told Eubank, he saw one man standing by the driver’s side of the Honda. That man got into the car and the man who had been at the Suburban ran to the passenger side of the Honda and got in.

A third man, who had been standing south of the Honda in front of Room 105, ran to an older maroon-colored car and drove out onto the highway.

Police later submitted the shell casings to Gary L. Miller of the Sedgwick County Regional Science Center. Miller, a forensic scientist, specializes in identifying bullets fired from particular firearms.

Miller testified that the nine cartridge cases had all been fired from the same unknown firearm. Six of the nine bullets taken from Flores’ body could not be eliminated, nor identified, as coming from the same firearm, Miller said; three of the nine did have marks identifiable as coming from the same gun.

Issue on immunity

Before the trial began Tuesday morning, defense attorney Mark Manna said that he had a question about an evidentiary issue. He asked District Judge Jeffry Larson whether some of the prosecution’s witnesses had been given immunity from prosecution or had been informed that their testimony in the trial might be incriminating.

Manna said that the witnesses may give testimony about hiding the weapon Mr. Novarro allegedly used in the shooting, burning clothing and helping Novarro with money.

“I’m not aware of any plea bargains that have been made with these witnesses other than Miss Ruby Camarena, who was given limited immunity,” Manna said. “Therefore, I think the witnesses need to be advised ... that their testimony here in court could lead to having subsequent criminal charges brought against them — serious criminal charges. ...”

Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman said that a derivative grant of immunity had been filed on Matthew Miller, who is represented by Monte Miller.

Two witnesses are represented by attorney Don Krueger, whom Goodman said he expected to be in court with his clients when they testify; Camarena is represented by Clark Allemang.

Larson asked whether it would be possible to bring all of those witnesses to court simultaneously so they can be advised of their rights. Otherwise, the jury would have to leave the room when each of those witnesses took the stand.

“I think we could anticipate bringing them all here tomorrow morning,” Goodman said.

Those witnesses and their attorneys were to be in court at 8:30 a.m. today to be advised of their rights, before testimony resumed at 9 a.m.