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A Yuba City man was tortured with electricity and slowly bled to death from scores of cuts and stab wounds all over his body, according to testimony Thursday in Sutter County Superior Court.
Gabriel Melendez-Huerta, 54, was found April 27 on the second floor of his home in the 1800 block of Turin Drive.
At a preliminary hearing for Michael Collier, one of two men charged with first-degree murder, torture and robbery, Yuba City police Detective Jason Parker described broken furniture and electric cords connected to wet neck ties that apparently bound Melendez-Huerta to a chair. Blood was smeared on floors, walls — even a ceiling, he said.
"That room was destroyed," Parker said.
"Everything was covered with blood," he said "It was definitely the most involved scene I've ever been present on."
Melendez-Huerta, an X-ray technician at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, lived in a nice neighborhood on the city's west side. According to authorities, he had connections to the Oroville drug scene.
An investigation began when a California Highway Patrol officer found Melendez-Huerta's 2005 blue Mustang GT parked near a Highway 70 bridge over the Feather River in Oroville, the engine running.
The other defendant in the case, Dewayne Norman "Cowboy" Carter, was walking back to the car, acting "very peculiarly" and "fidgety," the officer testified.
Carter was arrested after jumping into the river.
In the Mustang were found items from Melendez-Huerta's home — paintings, a comic book collection, a wallet, checkbook and a blood-stained ceramic statuette of a pixie with the wings broken off, police said.
Wings found underneath Melendez-Huerta's body matched the statuette, Parker testified.
"A variety of weapons were apparently used," including what appeared to be a broom or mop handle, pathologist Thomas Gill testified. He estimated it took at least 45 minutes for the victim to die.
Melendez-Huerta had 21 puncture wounds just on his upper right arm, Gill said.
"It would have been quite painful," he said.
Collier drove Carter to Melendez-Huerta's house and left but knew what was going to happen inside, Assistant District Attorney Jana McClung said in an interview.
After he was arrested and put in Butte County Jail, Carter made more than 20 calls during the next two days, Yuba City police Detective John Ehrk testified.
Despite a recorded warning that outgoing calls are taped, Carter told Collier, "That (expletive) would not kick the bucket for (expletive)," Ehrk said.
Carter allegedly told his girlfriend, Tamara Patrice Simmons, on the phone that he had thrown his boots and clothing into the Feather River.
Bloody footprints were found near Melendez-Huerta's body, Parker testified.
In another phone conversation, Carter referred to having someone start "a campfire" — apparently referring to a plan to burn down Melendez-Huerta's house, police said.
In the water under the bridge where Carter was arrested, Butte County Sheriff's divers found a steak knife with a bent blade, a screwdriver, a large fork used for carving meat and a black hooded sweatshirt, police Sgt. Lincoln Eden testified.
Collier can be heard saying in one conversation, "Sounds like you deviated from the plan," Ehrk testified.
Carter's girlfriend, Simmons, originally was charged with being an accessory to murder but pleaded no contest Oct. 19 to harboring a felon. She was sentenced to the 187 days she had already served in jail and three years probation, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The preliminary hearing continues today.
Contact Marysville Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.
Gabriel Melendez-Huerta, 54, was found April 27 on the second floor of his home in the 1800 block of Turin Drive.
At a preliminary hearing for Michael Collier, one of two men charged with first-degree murder, torture and robbery, Yuba City police Detective Jason Parker described broken furniture and electric cords connected to wet neck ties that apparently bound Melendez-Huerta to a chair. Blood was smeared on floors, walls — even a ceiling, he said.
"That room was destroyed," Parker said.
"Everything was covered with blood," he said "It was definitely the most involved scene I've ever been present on."
Melendez-Huerta, an X-ray technician at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, lived in a nice neighborhood on the city's west side. According to authorities, he had connections to the Oroville drug scene.
An investigation began when a California Highway Patrol officer found Melendez-Huerta's 2005 blue Mustang GT parked near a Highway 70 bridge over the Feather River in Oroville, the engine running.
The other defendant in the case, Dewayne Norman "Cowboy" Carter, was walking back to the car, acting "very peculiarly" and "fidgety," the officer testified.
Carter was arrested after jumping into the river.
In the Mustang were found items from Melendez-Huerta's home — paintings, a comic book collection, a wallet, checkbook and a blood-stained ceramic statuette of a pixie with the wings broken off, police said.
Wings found underneath Melendez-Huerta's body matched the statuette, Parker testified.
"A variety of weapons were apparently used," including what appeared to be a broom or mop handle, pathologist Thomas Gill testified. He estimated it took at least 45 minutes for the victim to die.
Melendez-Huerta had 21 puncture wounds just on his upper right arm, Gill said.
"It would have been quite painful," he said.
Collier drove Carter to Melendez-Huerta's house and left but knew what was going to happen inside, Assistant District Attorney Jana McClung said in an interview.
After he was arrested and put in Butte County Jail, Carter made more than 20 calls during the next two days, Yuba City police Detective John Ehrk testified.
Despite a recorded warning that outgoing calls are taped, Carter told Collier, "That (expletive) would not kick the bucket for (expletive)," Ehrk said.
Carter allegedly told his girlfriend, Tamara Patrice Simmons, on the phone that he had thrown his boots and clothing into the Feather River.
Bloody footprints were found near Melendez-Huerta's body, Parker testified.
In another phone conversation, Carter referred to having someone start "a campfire" — apparently referring to a plan to burn down Melendez-Huerta's house, police said.
In the water under the bridge where Carter was arrested, Butte County Sheriff's divers found a steak knife with a bent blade, a screwdriver, a large fork used for carving meat and a black hooded sweatshirt, police Sgt. Lincoln Eden testified.
Collier can be heard saying in one conversation, "Sounds like you deviated from the plan," Ehrk testified.
Carter's girlfriend, Simmons, originally was charged with being an accessory to murder but pleaded no contest Oct. 19 to harboring a felon. She was sentenced to the 187 days she had already served in jail and three years probation, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The preliminary hearing continues today.
Contact Marysville Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.
