Gabriel Lule, 28, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of 66-year-old Antonio Garcia-Jojola.
On September 25, 2022, Lule struck Garcia-Jojola with his car, then turned around and ran him over a second time. Witnesses testified that while the two men were not close, they knew each other through Lule's uncle, who was Garcia-Jojola's best friend. Garcia-Jojola was a former murder convict and was known to carry brass knuckles.
Lule claimed he acted in self-defense after an altercation with Garcia-Jojola left him fearing for his life. However, evidence presented at trial indicated a significant time lapse between the first and second time Lule ran over the victim.
After the incident, which occurred in the 5000 block of W. Jefferson Blvd. in Dallas, Lule went home, showered, made dinner, and went to sleep.
DNA evidence from Garcia-Jojola was found under Lule's car, and crash data retrieval placed Lule at the scene. Surveillance footage from a nearby camera was available, but the original SD card footage was encrypted and unplayable. A detective's recording of the surveillance footage was shown in court.
The defense argued that the missing original footage could have contained evidence supporting Lule's self-defense claim and that the prosecution failed to retrieve it. Irene Duong, a Forensic Digital Media Evidence Technician with the DA's Office, testified about the extensive efforts made to recover the original footage, which proved crucial in the jury's deliberations.
The jury found Lule guilty after less than an hour of deliberation. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, taking into account his prior convictions and behavior.
The prosecution team included Lead Prosecutor William Davidson, Second Chair Nadin-Sarah Salkic, and DA Investigators Tom Naulty, Jesse Cantu, and Bonita Morgan. DA Video Room personnel Irene Duong also provided critical testimony. The Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation.
