Suspect identification critical issue as Lubbock rapper found not guilty of murder

Tazmin Paul walked out of the 364th District Court on Friday and into the arms of his family after a jury acquitted him of murder in connection with a deadly drive-by shooting of a homeless man two years ago in the South Overton neighborhood.

Paul, 23, had been held for two years at the Lubbock County Detention Center. He was one of two people accused in the shooting death of Seattle Salazar from a white Chevrolet Suburban around midnight Aug. 9, 2021, in the 2100 block of 16th Street.

He faced five years to life in prison.

Lubbock judge allows rapper's lyrics to be used against defendant in murder trial

Jurors deliberated for about three and 1/2 hours before returning to the court with a not guilty verdict.

The verdict came after a week-long trial during which prosecutors presented jurors with evidence that included Paul's DNA on the murder weapon, testimony from his co-defendant and childhood friend that he was the shooter, text messages and a music videos in which Paul could be seen rapping about shooting someone in the back as they walked in the street.

Meanwhile, defense attorney Michael King argued that prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his client was the man who shot and killed Salazar that night.

A week-long trial

King said the case against his client depended on the credibility of Paul's childhood friend and co-defendant, Jesus Tijerina, 26, who initially lied to detectives to save himself.

"What does Mr. Tijerina do? He finds himself a scapegoat and points the finger at Mr. Paul," King told jurors during his opening statements.

King told jurors none of the eye witnesses at the scene called to the stand by prosecutors could place his client in the SUV at the time of the shooting.

In fact, initial statements police gathered indicated the suspects were two Hispanic men. Tijerina is Hispanic and Paul is Black.

In his opening statement, King told jurors there was no doubt the .22 caliber Ruger semi-automatic rifle police investigators unearthed south of Lubbock was the weapon used to kill Salazar.

But the reason Paul's DNA was on the weapon was because he owned it and sold it to another person: Tijerina, King told jurors.

However, Paul's wasn't the only DNA profile on the rifle. There were three other profiles that were unidentified.

The case against Paul resulted from a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit that began when police officers, responding to a shots fired call about 11:30 p.m. found Salazar's body on the street in the 2100 block of 16th Street.

Witnesses at the scene told officers they saw two Hispanic men in a white older model SUV were involved in the shooting.

Investigators obtained a license place number of the SUV and traced it to the construction company that employed Tijerina. Company officials told investigators that the truck was assigned to Tijerina.

On Wednesday, Tijerina appeared in court with his attorney Matt Morrow and recounted the events from that night. Prosecutors granted him testimonial immunity, meaning they wouldn't be able to use his statements against him at his trial.

Night of the shooting

Tijerina, who grew up with Paul in northeast Lubbock, told jurors that Paul texted him that day asking for a ride home from work.

He told Paul he didn't have enough money for gas. Prosecutors showed a text Paul sent Tijerina telling him: "i got some money damn i got into a wreck and ---- and we need to handle some ----."

Tijerina, who lived in Woodrow, agreed to pick up Paul at 8 p.m. in the company truck he was allowed to use.

He said when he picked up his friend, Paul appeared, appeared agitated and was upset about a wreck he had been involved in.

"He seemed upset; upset (and) mad at the same time," Tijerina said.

He said he first drove Paul to his home on 17th Street behind Lubbock High School, where he brought him about $20 in change.

Tijerina told jurors Paul entered his vehicle with a rifle. However, he admitted that he lied to detectives when he told them at the time that he didn't see Paul bring the rifle because he was counting the change.

Tijernia told jurors he went to his grandmother's home in the 800 block of Fordham to exchange it for bills.

He said he and Paul were there for about an hour before they drove to the Murphy's gas station near Marsha Sharp Freeway and Avenue Q.

Video from the gas station's security cameras showed Paul and Tijerina paying for fuel about an hour and 1/2 before the shooting.

Tijerina told jurors he was taking Paul home when he said Paul told him to take a detour because he believed they were being followed.

"He seemed nervous," he said.

Tijerina said he began making random turns as he drove around the neighborhood. He said he remembers passing a group of people on Lime scooters a few times.

He said the second time they passed the group, Paul covered his face with a black bandana.

Keely Rief told jurors she and her friends rented Lime Scooters that night for a trip to a nearby bakery.

She said she noticed the SUV and remembered the front passenger wearing a black bandana that covered his nose and mouth.

"I was really unsettled," she said.

She said she remembered seeing the SUV drive by again when they returned from the bakery.

However, she told jurors she remembered the vehicle as being an older model and dark in color.

Rief said she couldn't identify the people in the SUV but told police she believed the occupants of the vehicle were Hispanic.

Joshua Danner, who was also with the group, told jurors he played football with Paul in high school. However, that night he said he couldn't tell who was in the SUV when it passed by them.

Back in the SUV, Tijerina said he grew nervous with Paul, who continued to talk about being followed.

He said as he drove to the north side of MC Overton park, Paul drew a handgun and began firing at a parked vehicle.

Tijerina said he decided to take Paul home and drove south on Avenue T and west on 16th Street, where he said he saw a man in black walking on the sidewalk.

He said they stopped at the intersection on Avenue U and 16th Street and Paul began shooting the rifle, a .22 caliber Ruger long rifle, out of the passenger side window at the man.

Tijerina said the shooting was unprompted as the man in black, later identified as Salazar, didn't interact with them in any way.

Tijerina said he continued driving west on 16th Street and turned south on Avenue W to head to 17th Street and take Paul home.

"Just to get him out of the vehicle," he said.

But he said Paul told him to go back to 16th Street and Avenue U to pick up the shell casings and Salazar's body or finish him off if he was still alive.

Tijerina told jurors he did as Paul asked and returned to the intersection where he saw Salazar limping southbound across the street.

He said Paul was telling him to run him over. However, he said Paul swung his rifle toward the driver's side window and began shooting Salazar again.

"I couldn't see him getting hit," Tijerina said. "I could hear him getting hit. I could hear him screaming."

Police investigators collected 16 .22 caliber long rifle shell casings at the scene, which were presented to jurors. They also found shell casings inside the SUV Tijerina was driving.

Dr. Tasha Greenberg, a deputy medical examiner at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, told jurors that Salazar suffered a gun shot in his back, one in each arm and a grazing wound to his head.

However, the bullet that struck him in the back, pierced his left lung and heart, killing him.

Tijerina said he drove to 17th Street where he finally told Paul to leave.

'A fixture in the neighborhood'

Micha Barror, who lives in the same block of the shooting, told jurors that Salazar was a fixture in the neighborhood, saying he frequently saw him walking there since 2016.

"He was a very benign personality," he said. "He kept to himself. "

He said the night of the shooting, he was listening to a podcast when gunfire erupted outside his home.

"It was just rapid succession," he said. "It sounded close ... like it was within a block of where I was at."

He called 911 to report the gunshots and walked out of his home to investigate and saw an older model white SUV driving away and saw someone in black clothes down the street.

"He was moving, standing, he might have been leaned over like he was almost looking at the ground," he said.

Then the white SUV returned, its windows open, and Barror said he saw muzzle flashes and heard gunshots.

The man in black, whom he now knows was Salazar, fell to the ground and crawled to the gutter.

Barror said he ran to the man to see if he could help him.

"I crouched down, called his name and cradled his head," he said. "I didn't check for a pulse or anything... I just kept on trying to call his name to see if I can get him to respond."

But there was no response and moments later, Salazar was dead.

Barror said he didn't see any of the people in the SUV.

Mark Watjen who also lived in the block, said the sound of gunfire drew him out from his home. He said he approached Salazar as Barror held him. He said he saw Salazar's breathing stop before police arrived.

Neither men said they saw a weapon on Salazar.

After the shooting

Meanwhile, Tijerina said he discovered that Paul left the rifle in the SUV and he tried calling him but there was no answer.

Instead, Paul texted him: "Put it to where unreachable."

He told jurors he believed Paul was telling him to get rid of the weapon and he replied: "I got you fam."

Those text messages were also presented to jurors.

Tijerina said he initially hid the gun under his bed then drove to a field and buried it.

He drove about a half mile and threw out the magazine in a ditch.

Detectives told jurors that as they investigated the shooting, they obtained descriptions of potential suspects as two Hispanic men.

Tejerina said he initially told detectives he didn't know anything about the case. He told jurors he was lying.

"I had just seen something never seen before in my life," he said. "I was scared."

However, he immediately admitted his involvement when they confronted them with the video evidence, saying he was driving and that Paul shot Salazar with a pistol.

Detectives released him after the interview. He said he spoke with his boss and family members, who advised him to tell investigators everything.

An hour after his first interview, he said he called detective George Madrigal, and told him that Paul actually used a rifle in the shooting and that he buried it in a field south of Woodrow on his instructions.

Tijerina said he led investigators to the field where they immediately found the weapon. Investigators would find the magazine within an hour.

A Texas Department of Public Safety forensic scientist told jurors he found a mixture of four DNA profiles on the rifle. He said Paul couldn't be excluded as a source of one of the profiles. However, he believed Tijerina could be excluded.

He said the contributors to three remaining profiles were unknown.

The magazine also had a mixture of three DNA profiles of which Paul was also a likely contributor. However, the contributors for the remaining profiles are unidentified.

Tijerina said that after a second interview with investigators, he cut his hair and fled to Mexico, staying with his half-brother's family.

He eventually surrendered to police at the advice of family members and was arrested at the border and he was arrested and booked into the Lubbock County jail in October 2021. He remains there.

Madrigal said he believed Tijerina was a credible witness as his statements about the shooting were independently corroborated by witness statements and other evidence.

However, he admitted that during the early stages of the investigation he relied on witness statements to issue an all-points bulletein for a suspect described as a 6-foot tall bald, Hispanic man.

Paul didn't testify during the guilt-innocence phase of his trial. However, prosecutors played to jurors his interview with detectives after they arrested him at a relative's home in the 1900 block of Cornell.

Prosecutors planned to present evidence of a backpack investigators saw Paul bring into the home before his arrest. The backpack contained a pistol that would likely corroborate Tijerina's testimony of the first shooting by the park.

However, District Judge William Eichman ruled outside the presence of the jury that the backpack was inadmissible after King argued that investigators failed to obtain a warrant to search it.

During the interview, Paul, who had an Afro hair style, denied to detectives any involvement in the shooting, which happened about a street north of his home.

He initially said he was asleep at the time of the shooting.

However, when confronted with evidence that he was seen in a vehicle, he admitted to riding in a vehicle around the neighborhood and seeing a man dressed in all black wearing a black, theater style mask and he appeared armed.

"When I looked at him he kinda look like he was going to shoot a gun at us," he said.

However, Paul denied doing anything to the man.

During the interview detectives repeatedly told Paul their investigation showed he was involved and that he appeared to be trying to protect someone.

The detective told him it wasn't fair for him to take the fall for someone else.

Paul replied, "Then I'll take the rap. I know I didn't do nothing so I know I have nothing to worry about... I would let God do his magic."

Presenting Paul's rap

Before resting their case, prosecutors played a music video that featured Paul, who performed under the name 806Taz, rapping about stalking and shooting someone walking on the street.

The video was produced in 2020 but detectives saw it was shared on Paul's social media account five days before the shooting.

Detectives also found a 2020 interview Paul did on a YouTube channel that he also shared on Aug. 4, 2021. In it, Paul could be heard saying he raps about the things he lives.

Prosecutor Erin Van Pelt told jurors in her closing argument that the music video was proof of Paul's intentions the night of the shooting.

"You heard what you knew he was going to do," she said.

She said the evidence they presented during the week overwhelmingly supports Paul's conviction.

In his closing argument, King told jurors Tijerina, who admitted to lying to detectives during his testimony, has shown that he wasn't a credible witness.

He said every time he met with detectives, his lies allowed him to leave without being arrested. And when he learned that authorities obtained a warrant for his arrest, he fled to Mexico.

"Flight is a sign of guilt," he told jurors. "It's dishonest."

He said Tijerina's account of the night of the shooting didn't makes sense, saying it took the second shooting of Salazar to compel him to kick Paul out of the SUV.

"It doesn't make any sense because it's not true," he said.

King argued the rap video played to jurors was an attempt to shock them into convicting Paul.

"I'm shocked that in 2023, we're still showing rap videos to try to convict young Black men," he said.

He reminded jurors that investigators never identified the three other DNA profiles on the rifle. They also never spoke to Tijerina's cousin, whom he called after the shooting.

The DPS forensic scientist agreed that it was possible one of the unidentified DNA profiles belonged to Tijerina's cousin. But he was never given a sample to compare.

"It's possible," King said in his closing argument. "That's reasonable doubt."

He stressed that at the outset of the investigation, eye witnesses described the suspects in the shooting as two Hispanic men. One, a 6-foot tall bald man, while the other a man with long hair and a red and black baseball cap that matched Tejerina.

"If not an eye witness sees Tazmin, then it's not Tazmin and if its not Tazmin (then) he's not guilty," he said.

Prosecutor Mandi Say told jurors that Salazar's murder was never going to makes sense.

"You can't make sense of gunning down a stranger that's homeless. Minding his own business walking down the street. That will never make sense to you," she said.

However, she said the only thing that will make sense is the evidence they saw during the week that pointed to Paul being the murderer.

Since Tijerina was legally an accomplice in the case, jurors couldn't solely rely on his testimony unless prosecutors presented evidence that sufficiently corroborated his testimony.

Say argued that Tijerina, who also faces a murder charge in connection with the shooting, had placed himself in tough spot by betraying his childhood friend and possibly earning a reputation as being a snitch.

"Do you think that that's easy or that's fun?" she asked jurors.

Say argued that Tijerina wasn't lying when he spoke to detectives.

"He omitted," she said. "But then as he talked more, he told more about what happened. He told the truth. He told damning evidence on himself."

Say reminded jurors the reason eye witnesses at the scene couldn't identify Paul was because he covered his face with a bandana.

"Because he's a coward, and he had to put a bandana across his face like a bandit," she said. "'Cause there's a reason that you want to hide your face because of what you're doing."

Prosecutors could not comment as Tijerina's case remains pending.

King said after the trial that he was grateful for the work the jury put into the deliberations.

"I know that they had a long, hard week listening to witness after witness and listening to the arguments," he said. "I have no doubt that they took all of the evidence into consideration when making this determination and finding Tazmin Paul not guilty."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Suspect identification critical issue in Lubbock rapper murder trial