22 October 2023 , 11:02
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This is the shocking moment a murder suspect was attacked by a heartbroken victim's family inside a courtroom after gesturing to them.
Victor Nathaneal Rivas, 18, is accused of shooting dead 15-year-old Ethan Soto in Texas in May 2022. He was awaiting an appearance for his murder trial when a huge brawl broke out during a court hearing in San Antonio. He, according to eyewitnesses, gestured towards Soto's grieving family members in the gallery, prompting the fight.
A family member of Soto jumped the railing and began hitting the accused murderer before three others joined in the brawl which lasted more than 30 seconds. The fight happened in front of a bunch of other inmates. In the shocking video, two court bailiffs quickly rushed to separate the fight.
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The fracas that lasted more than 30 seconds (KSAT12)Court officers cleared the gallery and removed the inmates after Soto's family and Rivas were pulled from each other. “He is going to be bruised and swollen,” Rivas’ lawyer Adam La Hood told the San Antonio Express. The four relatives, two men, and two teens were arrested and charged with assault and disruption of court proceedings.
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Rivas is accused of shooting Soto as an act of revenge for when the younger teen allegedly robbed THC cartridges from Rivas. According to an arrest affidavit, the suspect allegedly shot Soho at his family home, but the 15-year-old was not injured in that shooting. Soto’s mum later met up with Rivas to pay for the stolen cartridges, an interaction Rivas has denied, according to local reports.
One of Soto’s male relatives jumped the railing and began beating the accused murderer (KSAT12)Rivas approached an underage girl on Instagram and asked for her to set up a drug deal with Soto and “stated several times that he was looking for the person who robbed him and was going to ‘catch’ him when he saw him,” the affidavit stated. The pair arranged to meet up for a drug deal involving the stolen cartridges before Soto was ambushed by Rivas. Soto was shot multiple times and was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
Court staff intervened and led them away (KSAT12)The shocking brawl comes just weeks after a mum and her two grieving family members attacked her daughter's alleged killer after claiming he was "laughing at my face" during an emotional testimony inside a Texas courtroom.
Victor Nathaneal Rivas is accused of shooting a 15-year-old (KSAT12)Frank DeLeon Jr., 19, was at the second day of his murder trial in Houston, where he is accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend, Diamond Alvarez, 16, 22 times in January 2022, when the fight broke out. Alvarez’s mum, Anna Machado, had just finished giving a victim impact testimony when she walked off the stand and headed straight for DeLeon before being stopped by a bailiff.
As Machado was being held back, Alvarez’s uncle rushed DeLeon and punched the alleged murderer several times. Court staff tackled the man to the floor while DeLeon was ushered to a corner. After the families were pulled apart, Judge Hazel B. Jones ordered the courtroom to adjourn.