2nd day of retrial: AJ Armstrong becomes emotional in court as he sees images of his parents

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Prosecutors started day two of A.J. Armstrong's capital murder trial by showing jurors photos of the inside of the Armstrong home on Palmetto Street in southwest Houston, hours after Dawn and Antonio Armstrong Sr. were shot to death.

Their son, Antonio Armstrong Jr., who's on trial for their murders, and buried his head in his hands. It was the first time we saw A.J., now 22 years old, get emotional during this trial.

Back in 2019, A.J.'s first capital murder trial ended with a hung jury. He was 16 years old when he was charged with murdering his parents in July 2016.

The first witness was Houston police Lt. J.P. Horelica, who testified he was one of the first to arrive at the Armstrong house minutes after A.J. called 911 for help. Horelica testified that A.J.'s younger sister, Kaira, who was 12 years old at the time, looked frightened and confused as if she had just been woken up.

SEE ALSO: Attorneys set stage for capital murder retrial of AJ Armstrong

At one point, police had put Kaira in the back of a squad car, as it is policy when talking to people on the scene. Horelica, along with two other HPD officers to later testify, said he later took the handcuffs off Kaira and allowed her grandmother to sit with her.

"You formed an opinion within 11 minutes of being in that house," defense attorney Rick DeToto said implying Horelica decided that the killer had to have come from inside and didn't do enough to interview and investigate other witnesses on the scene.

When it was time for cross-examination, DeToto shared some of the medical records of Josh Armstrong, A.J.'s older half-brother.

One record stated: "Patient is extremely psychotic with command voices, paranoid, delusional, has attacked brother and attempted to set fire to the house." Another record stated: "Patient experienced watching the murder of his parents in 2016."

Prosecutors pointed out that one of those records stated: "Since parents were murdered, (Josh) started exhibiting these symptoms."

SEE ALSO: 'I didn't do it:' Accused killer A.J. Armstrong tells his story

The second witness to testify was Jason Williams, a former Houston EMT, who talked about trying to save Antonio Sr., who still had a pulse when paramedics arrived. Williams said he had to remove a pillow placed over Antonio Sr.'s head, adding that he wasn't worried about preserving evidence because he was focused on trying to save a life.

"(There was) blood everywhere. I tried to stop the bleeding," Williams testified.

Houston police Sgt. Travis Parkerson also testified about securing the scene and seeing a pistol on the kitchen counter. Parkerson said that, at one point, he saw an officer pick up the gun to which he told her to put it down.

"She shouldn't have picked it up," Parkerson told the jury.

But nothing in the police report noted the gun was touched by the officer.

"The incompetence and arrogance of the police, in this case, is overwhelming," DeToto later told Eyewitness News.

Retired HPD Lt. Jimmy Dotson was the final HPD officer to testify, appearing from Florida via Zoom. He testified that the note left next to the gun was "scribbled in an odd way. In a way, you wouldn't be able to do any handwriting recognition on it."

Dotson testified he encountered Josh that night and that his demeanor was upset, emotional, and agitated. The retired officer said Josh got more agitated when Dotson wouldn't give details about what was going on inside the house.

He also told jurors he conducted an interview with A.J., along with another HPD officer back at headquarters. That interview tape was played during the 2019 trial, but has not yet been played during this trial.

Day three of the trial starts Thursday at 9 a.m. with the state's fifth witness. The prosecution has declined to comment during the trial thus far.

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