TIERRA AMARILLA — The second day of a murder trial for a Rio Arriba County man accused of fatally shooting his neighbor in 2022 came to an explosive end late Thursday with an emotional exchange between the victim's father and the mother of the accused.

Elmer Sanchez Sr. was on the witness stand in a Tierra Amarilla courtroom, testifying about the death of his son, 36-year-old Elmer Sanchez Jr. While he was being questioned by a prosecutor, Sanchez Sr. said he thought defendant Kevin Martinez, 25, was the shooter and might have been upset because "his grandmother had to stand up for him."

A woman in the audience let out a sarcastic laugh.

"You think that's funny?" Sanchez Sr. retorted to the woman, later identified by several spectators as Martinez's mother, Nanette Garcia.

"I think it'

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