Three masked youths initially posed as costumed revelers at a high school Halloween party two years ago in Pantego before pulling guns and robbing more than 20 students, according to testimony Tuesday in the trial of a teenager accused of being one of the robbers.
Witnesses testified that the three were mistaken for partygoers, with their dark clothes and masks mixing with the ladybugs, SpongeBobs and other costumes at the party on Oct. 30, 2010.When pressed to show their faces, the youths drew guns and robbed the students."We were all shaking," testified Tate Henshaw, a recent high school graduate who co-hosted the party with her friend Nikki Collins at Collins' house. "There was a real sense of danger there."Pedro Dominguez, 19, of Fort Worth is standing trial on charges that he was among the youths who participated in the robbery and pistol-whipped a father who arrived to pick up his son.One youth, who was just 14 at the time, has already been sentenced to 10 years in a state juvenile facility. Three others are awaiting trial, including David Castro, 20, who is expected to testify in Dominguez's trial.Dominguez abruptly pleaded guilty Tuesday to a burglary charge in the case, but prosecutors Page Simpson and Brock Groom told jurors that they were proceeding nonetheless with nearly a dozen aggravated-robbery charges against him. Groom told jurors in opening statements that the party was for members of the Arlington school district's gymnastics teams, who participate from different high schools but work out together.He said the party was a "pretty wholesome time," with the costumed students listening to music and talking in the back yard before retiring inside to watch a movie.Defense attorney David Bays told jurors that Dominguez does not deny there was a burglary, but he urged them to weigh the credibility of the evidence they hear.Witness Barbara Collins, the mother of Nikki Collins, told jurors that she began to get suspicious of the late arrivals when they wouldn't remove their masks."We told them to take their masks off, and they said it would ruin their costume," she said.Collins said that she went to get her husband and that one of the youths followed her into the hallway, pulled a gun and told her to get on the floor. He took all the jewelry she was wearing, she testified.In the living room, another gunman told the high school students to get facedown on the floor and began collecting cellphones, wallets and car keys. At that point, parent Charles Marshall arrived to pick up his son, Corey Marshall, a gymnastics team member from Martin High School.Charles Marshall told jurors that he stepped inside the front door and saw the teens facedown. He spotted a gun in the hand of one of the masked youths, and, as a martial arts expert, he tried to take the weapon while delivering a blow to the throat.They then spilled into the front yard, and Marshall was beaten severely with what apparently was the butt of a rifle held by another youth."I was afraid for my son's life," Charles Marshall told jurors.Groom told jurors that investigators tracked the case to an apartment used by Dominguez and others after one of the students noticed that his Facebook page was being defaced from his stolen cellphone. All the stolen items were found in the apartment, Groom said.Testimony is expected to continue this week before Visiting Judge David Cleveland in Criminal District Court No. 4.Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084Twitter: @DiannaHunt