ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A double-homicide trial in Allentown is now in its third day.
A man is facing life in prison in the shooting deaths of a woman and her 13-month-old grandson. The grandfather rushed to their aid and was also shot, but he lived to tell the jury what he saw.
45-year-old Gabriel Cartagena is accused of shooting the three victims in December of 2023.
Security camera video did catch the scene.
It was nighttime when the victim, Ada Ortiz, answered the door holding her 13-month-old grandson, Sebastian.
A man at the door shot them both multiple times before the grandfather, Leandro Ortiz, says he came running from the kitchen, pushing the shooter out of the house. He was shot once in the chest.
Surveillance cameras were rolling, but the video is dark and a face can’t be seen.
Much of Thursday morning was spent scrutinizing many different videos, between homes, businesses, and a nearby school at multiple different angles just before and after the shooting.
Prosecutors identified the suspect in one clear video before the shooting, wearing a light-colored hat, distinct boots and, in one video, a tattoo on his hand.
Thursday, prosecutors had Cartagena stand up in court to show the jury the paw-print tattoo on his hand.
The prosecutors have been trying to prove that Cartagena is the same figure they see in the darker videos as well, heading to and from the scene of the crime.
Meanwhile, the defense, in cross-examinations, questioned whether the figure in each video was in fact Cartagena.
On another note, the first witness of the day came from the state police crime lab saying gunshot residue was found on the passenger side of Cartagena’s mother’s car days after the homicides.
But there are many unknowns there, including how long the residue was there for, and the caliber of the gun.
69 News will have more on Thursday’s trial tonight at 5 p.m.