Prosecutors in the murder trial of Gearold Sotolongo will have to call at least one more witness to address new evidence that victim Roger Yale had a knife in his back pocket when Sotolongo allegedly stabbed him in the heart.
Under cross-examination today by defense attorney Zack Curtis, the doctor who conducted Yale’s autopsy six years ago said there was a black, folding knife in Yale’s rear pants pocket.
Dr. Mark Super testified he has no independent memory of seeing the knife, but he documented its existence in the 2016 autopsy report. No witness has reported seeing Yale with any kind of weapon, other than possibly a stick.
Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees asked Super if the knife was covered in blood. Super has no recollection but said he would have made note of seeing blood.
Super was expected to be the last prosecution witness, but plans have changed. Also, Curtis said outside the courtroom he intends to call defense witnesses, “hopefully three or four.”
Jurors were told not to return until Monday morning, leaving the court dark tomorrow. So the trial may extend well into next week.
Super said the knife that killed Yale passed between two ribs, without nicking the ribs, and then punctured his heart. Super described the wound as “a pretty big hole.”
Sotolongo, also known as Roldo Pratt, wasn’t arrested until nearly a month after the killing. No alleged murder weapon has been introduced as evidence. Super testified today that judging by a wound on Yale’s arm, the knife may have been serrated.
Yale was covered head to toe in bruises and abrasions, the doctor said. Some of the wounds were scabbed over, meaning they were older. Others appeared to have been inflicted during the fatal altercation. Yale fell backward on concrete at one point, which could explain a bruise on the back of his head and some of the other injuries.
Also, as Curtis pointed out, it’s possible Yale may have been injured when he was fighting violently with paramedics in the back of an ambulance. He died in the ambulance before he could be flown to a hospital.
Sotolongo, now 31, is accused of stabbing the 30-year-old Yale outside the Hoopa Mini-mart about 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 13, 2016. The case has taken six years and three months to get to trial. At least one potential witness has died, and at least one is in prison.
As usual with long-time jail occupants, Sotolongo no longer resembles his booking mugshot. He is plump, has short hair and is wearing a dress shirt and slacks. Like everyone else in the courtroom, he wears a mask.
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