Xiomara Mendez-Rosales and Andres Nava-Maldonado are accused of being involved in the undercover sting that led to the deadly gunfight. They are on trial for murder, facing possible life sentences. All along the defense has contended that these two individuals did not fire the shots that killed Officer Canales, and therefore are not guilty. But those who worked alongside Officer Canales in the Houston Police Department feel differently. Officer Jim Woods was on the scene the night Officer Canales lost his life.
"It's almost surreal," Officer Woods said. "You really don't realize that this is actually occurring. You hear the gunfire and you realize that, uh-oh, this is not something that is good. This is something that's going bad right here, right now. At that point your reactions take over and your training kicks in. You do the best job you can."
In addition to the officers who've been a constant presence inside the courtroom, we expect HPD Chief Charles McClelland to make an appearance in show of support sometime this week.
An emotional audio tape recorded at the end of Officer Canales' life is expected to be played in open court sometime Friday.
