×

Prosecution, defense give powerful opening statements in Ruiz case

Rebecca Ruiz

MAYVILLE — A bad joke, a windowless backdoor and a loveless, abusive marriage were the defense’s focal points in Rebecca Ruiz’s trial. The prosecution, on the other hand, stressed that it was murder.

Opening statements were given and five witnesses spoke in front of the jury in the Ruiz murder trial on Wednesday at the Chautauqua County Court. Ruiz faces three charges: second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence.

The jury consists of 12 members and four alternates. Of the deciding 12, seven are women and five are men.

OPENING STATEMENTS

Behind Chautauqua County’s District Attorney Patrick Swanson, the prosecution began its opening statement by emphasizing the murder of 21-year-old Julian Duman.

“Julian Duman was killed when a bullet entered his chest, dissected his lung” and impacted his pulmonary artery, Swanson said. “… That bullet was fired by the defendant (Ruiz).”

Swanson, whose goal is to get a guilty conviction, went back to the night of the shooting on July 6, 2017. The DA stated that Ruiz pulled the trigger through a windowless backdoor. That bullet was the one that impacted Duman. Ruiz, per Swanson, lived with Duman, and Ruiz called 911 saying that another man shot Duman and ran.

Once Dunkirk Police arrived, Ruiz admitted to shooting Duman and said over the 911 call that she hates Waldo and “I want to kill him,” Swanson stated.

Ruiz allegedly said to the police on scene that she threw the gun and later added that her cousin grabbed the gun. The weapon was not found.

Duman was the boyfriend of Ruiz and Walter “Waldo” Duprey was her husband.

“This is not a who done it,” Swanson concluded. “… Julian is dead, and Rebecca did it.”

The defense, led by Anthony L. Pendergrass, told a different angle.

Pendergrass stood in front of a wooden podium that was placed near the jury. After a long pause, Pendergrass unexpectedly pounded on the wooden surface as if it was Ruiz’s door that night.

He said, “(Expletive), it’s Waldo, open the mother (expletive) door, (expletive).”

Pendergrass and the defense aimed to prove that Ruiz was in a hostile situation to prove innocence. The man knocking was Duman, pretending to be “Waldo” as a joke.

Pendergrass explained that the love triangle between Ruiz, Duman and Duprey or “Waldo” was dangerous. Duprey, who left jail in February 2017, wanted Ruiz back, the defense attorney said. Pendergrass stated that Duprey went as far as holding Ruiz hostage in an earlier part of the relationship that Swanson, as he pointed toward him, charged him with.

The defense added that on July 4 at 10 p.m., Duprey and Duman were in an alleged gun fight as fireworks were going off. On July 6 — the night of the murder — Duman, along with accomplices Quentin Watts and Angel Morales “suited up” with the objective to kill Duprey at a South Roberts Road residence.

Upon returning, Duman supposedly told Watts that they were going to “mess with” Ruiz. There was no comment as to where Morales was. Ruiz was supplied with or knew of a gun that was in the kitchen, Pendergrass said.

Then the door knocking began.

Once Ruiz heard the keys entering the lock, the defense attorney said, Ruiz pulled the trigger and shot who she thought was Duprey. Pendergrass stated that Ruiz believed Duprey killed Duman and possibly took the keys to enter her home. There was allegedly jingling of the keys, which hinted that the one attempting to enter didn’t know what key unlocked the door.

Pendergrass said that Duman sold guns and had two guns, including a rifle, along with grips and cartridges in the house at 141 East Lake Shore Drive, Dunkirk.

Pendergrass walked behind Ruiz, placed his hands on her shoulders and said, “This woman here has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and added that she was defending herself from the circumstances.

He said Watts allegedly took all the guns from the house.

The defense’s opening statement ended with the proclamation that Ruiz is as much of a victim as Duman.

WITNESSES TO THE STAND

The prosecution brought five witnesses to the stand on Wednesday, including two nearby walkers that were on scene seconds after the shooting, two responding Dunkirk Police officers and one paramedic who took care of Duman.

The two walkers, 21-year-old Amber Wickham and 20-year-old Angelica Gonzalez, were heading toward the intersection of Main Street and Lake Shore Drive at the time of the shooting. Wickham said they were heading from a friend’s house near Tim Hortons, while Gonzalez said they left Tim Hortons. They heard a firecracker-like noise while they were across the street on Lake Shore Drive and saw a man stumbling.

“I seen a dude stumble in the back side of the house,” Wickham said. “… I was thinking he was drunk.”

Both walkers approached the scene and said near-identical stories. Ruiz frantically yelled for help, Wickham and Ruiz both called the police and they saw a person in dark clothes running from the scene toward Second Street. The walkers stated they could not assume the gender of the person running and added that they didn’t see anything in the person’s possession.

The defense stressed that Ruiz was trying her best to mitigate the bleeding by putting pressure on the wound and calling 911. Also, Pendergrass asked the witnesses if Ruiz directed anyone to dispose of the weapon or remove the weapon. Both answered “no.”

The second witness, Gonzalez, listened to the recording of Wickham’s 911 call and confirmed it happened at the scene. In the background, Ruiz was yelling that Duman was dying and in need of help.

The two Dunkirk officers brought to the witness stand were K-9 handler Brian Dietzen and Sergeant Mark Gruber. Dietzen responded within a minute because he was nearby. When he arrived, Dietzen saw Ruiz kneeling near the head of Duman applying pressure to his upper chest.

Dietzen and Gruber stated they heard very similar comments from Ruiz: “I shot him. Oh God, is he dead?” Dietzen reiterated what he heard. “I didn’t know it was Julian. … I think it was a .22 (caliber gun). I tossed it over there.”

The defense asked Dietzen if he, in his 10 years with Dunkirk Police, had interactions with Duprey. With a few objections coming from the prosecution, Dietzen added that there are allegations that Duprey had assaulted Ruiz prior to the incident.

Gruber followed Dietzen on the stand. He responded to the scene after Dietzen. Once there, Dietzen asked Gruber to get a medical kit. However, he could not find one in his vehicle.

Pendergrass asked Gruber a few questions about Duprey, however, the only allowable question following objections were if he dealt with him. He said that he arrested Duprey multiple times on other matters, unrelated to Ruiz.

The final witness was Alstar EMS employee Douglas Baldwin. He echoed a similar story, but could not answer more in-depth questions as he was rushing to take Duman to the hospital for his injury. Alstar was there within four minutes, he said.

The judge presiding over the case, David Foley, recessed the trial for the day around 3 p.m. The trial will begin this morning at 9:30 a.m.

Twitter: @ByKuczkowski

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today