Turlock defendant testifies about shot that killed suspected burglar

Robin Duane Boyer believed Brandon Pacheco had repeatedly burglarized his Turlock home before he encountered Pacheco on July 23, 2013. Pacheco was on a motorcycle with a child’s wagon hauling car batteries apparently stolen from Boyer’s barn.

Boyer testified in his murder trial Monday that Pacheco was revving the motorcycle, but he was having trouble moving forward. Boyer testified that he thought Pacheco would run him over with the motorcycle as he tried to escape like he had done before.

It had reached a point at which Boyer believed it was either him or Pacheco who would survive this encounter. “So I raised the gun, and that’s when it went off,” Boyer said in court Monday afternoon.

The prosecution says Boyer fired a 12-gauge shotgun at Pacheco from 20 yards away, and five shotgun pellets struck Pacheco’s back.

The defendant said he initially fired the shotgun into the ground, then he fired above Pacheco’s head to get him to stop. Boyer said he didn’t intentionally fire the shot that killed Pacheco.

“I believed it was involuntary,” Boyer said during cross-examination. “I don’t think I purposely fired the gun, period ... I’m not really sure why the gun went off.”

The defendant said Pacheco did not threaten him during the encounter that morning. Boyer claimed Pacheco was pivoting the motorcycle but failed to turn around before Boyer fired the fatal shot. He testified that he also saw Pacheco reaching back, and believed the man was reaching for a weapon.

“I was trying to stop him from running over me,” Boyer said on the witness stand. “Obviously, he was turned around somehow.”

The deadly shooting occurred shortly before 8 a.m. on the Boyer property in the 1100 block of Dianne Drive in Turlock. There were two homes on the property, which is near a sweet potato field. Boyer and his wife lived in one home; his mother, Hazel Boyer, lived in the other.

There had been repeated thefts on the property, according to the Boyer family. A burglar had been spotted leaving the property on a motorcycle and a motorized scooter with stolen items. Boyer said the burglar’s behavior had become more brazen, and he saw the burglar the day before the shooting leaving the property with stolen items.

Boyer and his family believed one man was responsible, but they didn’t know him. When he encountered Pacheco on his property, Boyer believed Pacheco had been burglarizing the family’s home.

The defendant told the jury that he was concerned for his elderly mother’s safety. She was home alone when the rest of the family was at work during the day. Boyer said he thought the burglar would return and continue stealing items not far from his mother’s tomato garden. He feared the burglar would scare her, resulting in a harmful medical condition.

Boyer said he wanted the burglaries to stop when he spotted Pacheco in the back of the property. So, he retrieved the shotgun before approaching Pacheco to detain him for police to arrive. “I was going to confront him, and I thought I needed protection.,” Boyer said.

He chambered a round in the shotgun, creating a distinctive sound that caused Pacheco to look up. Boyer said Pacheco stood up and had a “hideous” or crazed look in his eyes. Pacheco yelled twice at Boyer “I’m not thieving!” The defendant yelled at the jury to replicate Pacheco’s voice.

“I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” Boyer told the jury. “I instantly went into defensive mode.”

Boyer said he ordered Pacheco to get on the ground, but Pacheco refused. The motorcycle’s engine was revving, and a lot of smoke and dirt was billowing around him. Boyer said he kept hearing a voice in his head not to shoot at a human being as he raised the shotgun.

After the shot into the man’s back, Pacheco was slumped back; not forward, according to Boyer. “He said ‘You shot me,’ ” the defendant testified.

Boyer said he walked up to Pacheco but didn’t call for an ambulance because he didn’t see any gunshot wounds and still believed he had fired above Pacheco’s head. When he got close, he didn’t see any signs of life in Pacheco.

The defendant said he was distraught after the shooting, and his hands were shaking tremendously. He said that’s why he didn’t call for an ambulance after seeing Pacheco’s lifeless body. Shortly after, Boyer’s family heard the defendant say he was going to hell because he had hurt someone.

“This was a peaceful morning, and all of a sudden this was a nightmare,” Boyer told the jury.

He’s expected to continue his testimony Tuesday in Stanislaus Superior Court.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Turlock defendant testifies about shot that killed suspected burglar."