TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In June 2022, Melissa Gomez lost her son James Sanchez when he was shot and killed at a park in Catalina. He was only 16 years old.
“Very happy. Always tried to cheer people up,” Gomez described her son back in July.
KGUN9 News reporter Andrew Christiansen has been following his story since July when he met Gomez and the rest of Sanchez’s family. He also reported on a dedication the family had for James on what would’ve been his nineteenth birthday. KGUN9 has been following this story even before that.
“It’s a day of happiness, it was, and now it’s a day of sadness,” Gomez described back in August about her son’s birthday.
An investigation led to five arrests for Sanchez’s death. Two in the case have trials pending and two others have been sentenced to prison.
On Tuesday the murder trial for 24-year-old Joseph Nolan started.
“They didn’t have a heart. To pull that trigger, you are not worried about hurting someone,” Gomez said about the accused killers back in July.
Nolan is facing five counts including attempted first degree murder and aggravated robbery.
After jury selection on Tuesday, the judge said he would allow the defense to bring in Sanchez’s mother Melissa Gomez to testify. The prosecution is still considering that move.
The judge is still waiting to decide on whether or not to bring in an another person tied to the case to testify.
“I’m reserving ruling on that,” he said.
On Tuesday, Sanchez’s family declined an interview. Back in July Gomez said since many of the accused were teens at the time, it can make the case complicated.
“It feels like a game of chess. You don’t know who is going to win and you feel like you’re on the losing end because of their age,” she said last July.
The trial is continuing on Wednesday and is expected to be over by Friday.
When asked about what Gomez would say to the group of boys who allegedly killed her son, she said, “You should pay the consequences for your actions.”
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
