New Testimony Reveals Conflicting Versions of Deadly Traffic Dispute

Marco Sanchez was “halfway out” the passenger door of his car when Howard Barton shot him in the back after a minor traffic altercation in Pacific Beach, Barton’s daughter said in a videotaped police interview played Thursday for a jury.

The testimony of Andrea Barton appeared to contradict a defense argument that Howard Barton, a real estate agent, shot and killed Sanchez in self-defense when the victim threatened him with a knife.

Howard Barton, 48, is charged with slaying Sanchez, 24, after a traffic dispute involving Sanchez and Andrea Barton, 21, on Feb. 22, 1990. Witnesses said the dispute began when Andrea Barton’s vehicle stalled twice at the intersection of Ingraham Street and Grand Avenue.

Sanchez, a National City resident, “laid on the horn,” and he and Andrea Barton exchanged obscene gestures, defense attorney Milt Silverman said in his opening statement.

Andrea Barton was the first witness called by Silverman as he began the defense version of the case. Her father is on trial for murder and free on $1-million bail. At the time of the shooting, he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Howard Barton told police investigators that he fired the fatal shot when Sanchez slashed at him with a knife, while Sanchez sat in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. Both the prosecution and defense agreed that Barton threatened to “shoot (Sanchez’s) head off” unless he dropped the knife.

However, several witnesses have testified that Sanchez was unarmed at the time of the shooting and appeared to be trying to get away from Barton by going out the passenger door. Police found a folded knife, screwdrivers and a pair of scissors under and near the driver’s seat.

Statements given by Andrea Barton to authorities at the time of the shooting contradicted sharply with her testimony in court and the defense version of the shooting. Detective Stephen McMillan testified Thursday that Andrea Barton told him moments after the shooting that she saw Sanchez “try to crawl out of the passenger door, and she heard a shot.”

In a later videotaped interview with homicide Detective Michael Penalosa on the day of the incident, Andrea Barton said “(Sanchez) was halfway out” the passenger door when she heard a bang. The taped interview was played for the jury.

During her interview with Penalosa, the young woman broke down and said, “This is all my fault.” Howard Barton and Sanchez “were both overreacting and out of control” moments before the shooting, Andrea Barton also told police.

Andrea Barton’s contradictory comments were made during sharp cross-examination by Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa Chappell, who often had to show her a transcript of the statements she made to police in order to refresh her memory.

Earlier in the day, defense attorney Silverman closely questioned Andrea Barton about the incident. After the traffic confrontation, she drove to her father’s real estate office on Cass Street and told him what happened. Andrea Barton said she was scared and badly shaken by her encounter with Sanchez.

Father and daughter got in Howard Barton’s pickup truck and went looking for Sanchez. They saw his car parked on Garnet Avenue, in front of Cal Stores. Andrea Barton testified that she walked inside the store and confronted Sanchez. She was joined by Howard Barton, and the three began arguing.

Several prosecution witnesses testified that Howard Barton was the aggressor and Sanchez twice attempted to walk away from him. The deadly encounter happened when Sanchez managed to enter his red Ford Fairmont.

During questioning by Silverman, Andrea Barton said she saw her father pointing a gun at Sanchez, who was sitting in the driver’s seat with the driver’s door open.

Sanchez “was looking at my dad and had his hands on his lap. He kept looking down and looking at my father. He looked down. . . . He went toward my dad, and he went back down. . . . I was kind of panicking. I thought he hurt my dad. I knew (Sanchez) had a knife. My dad said, ‘Put the knife down or I’ll blow your head off,’ ” said Andrea Barton.

McMillan testified that Andrea Barton told him she saw a knife in Sanchez’s right hand before he exited the car. After he was shot, a mortally wounded Sanchez walked by her and collapsed in the doorway of a nearby dry cleaner.

Police found a set of keys and a baseball cap near his body. The prosecution’s witnesses testified that they never saw a weapon in Sanchez’s hands.

During cross-examination by Chappell, Andrea Barton said she never told investigators that she heard her father warn Sanchez to drop the knife. Andrea Barton told police she only heard her father order Sanchez to get out of the car and wait for police.

When questioned by Silverman, Andrea Barton gave a vivid account of sharp words that Sanchez exchanged with her and Howard Barton. But, under cross-examination by Chappell, Barton said she never told police about the argument inside the store “because I didn’t think it was important.”

In the videotaped interview, she told detectives she was unable to remember anything that was said inside the Cal Stores “because it was like gibberish.”

The prosecution contended that Howard Barton armed himself before setting out to look for Sanchez. But Andrea Barton testified that Howard Barton usually carried the gun used in the shooting in his pants pocket, and she did not see him grab the weapon before they went looking for Sanchez.

The trial continues today.