KINGMAN – A Lake Havasu City man shot and killed his unarmed roommate in a rental dispute claims self-defense at his trial that opened Tuesday in Kingman. Legal Defender Jonathan Robinson urged the Mohave County Superior Court jury to determine that Angel Caldera, 23, acted reasonably and was justified when he opened fire and claimed the life of Arnell Bell, 19, on May 17 last year.
Robinson and prosecutor Leah Nelson stipulated to the admission of more than 70 pieces of evidence as many aspects of the case are not in dispute. But the Deputy Mohave County Attorney strenuously argued that the defendant acted unreasonably and is guilty of second-degree murder.
Nelson told the jury that Bell had agreed to pay half his share of rent up front when he moved into the unit #101 residence at 2595 McCulloch Boulevard N that Caldera already shared with his sister and her boyfriend. She said Bell lost his job and that Caldera demanded that he fully pay up or move out about a week before the shooting.
Nelson said Caldera let Bell enter the home the morning of May 17 to retrieve possessions from the room he was renting. She said Caldera, already armed and prepared for work at Sam’s Shooters Emporium, confronted him about five minutes later, contending he was taking too long, and a struggle ensued.
“Within three minutes 13 shots were fired from that Glock by Angel Caldera … not once, not twice but 13 times,” Nelson said. “Angel brought a gun to a fist fight.”
Nelson said that the unarmed Bell was shot in the back four times, and that bullet trajectory evidence suggests the teenager was shot many times when already wounded and down.
Robinson countered that Caldera needed to get to work and opened the bedroom door to tell Bell to hurry up. The defense attorney said Bell charged the defendant, repeatedly pummeling him and drawing blood, while disabling and obscuring Caldera’s vision by knocking off his glasses and pulling his shirt over his head.
Robinson said that Bell told Caldera he was going to stab him when his “NRA training kicked in” and he opened fire in self-defense. He urged the jurors to find Caldera’s actions to be reasonable and justified under the law.
The trial before Judge Billy Sipe is expected to take several days to complete.
Dave Hawkins
