Witness says teen confessed to killing

One of a trio charged with capital murder in the death last year of a 19-year-old Isaac Christopher Morey testified in court Friday that he had heard the defendant, Jalen Veliz, confess to the killing.

Cesar Carlos, a key witness in Veliz’s trial, told jurors that he was the one who set up the robbery that led to the shooting on April 17, 2018.

He said that he, Veliz and a third man, Tommy Lee Potter, all 17 at the time, had been hanging out at Potter’s apartment the night before the killing, smoking weed and taking Xanax, when they hatched a plan to find a dealer on Snapchat to rob.

Carlos said they arrived at the apartment of one of Morey's friends on East Ben White Boulevard after midnight, where they met Morey to buy a quarter-pound of marijuana.

Carlos testified that he handed Morey the money for the drugs, but told him the bag he gave them seemed short. He said Veliz and Potter went to the car to get a scale to weigh it, but then they came back armed with guns.

Potter held a pistol to Morey’s head and demanded the marijuana, Carlos said, and then he and Potter fled the apartment together. Veliz, who was armed with a rifle, stayed behind, Carlos testified. When Veliz finally made it back to their car that night, Carlos said, he told the pair, "I shot him. I think he's dead."

Prosecutors have alleged it was Veliz who fired the shot that killed Morey. Jeremy Walker, who lived at the apartment, identified Veliz as the shooter earlier in the trial on Tuesday.

Carlos said after the robbery, he, Veliz and Potter went back to Potter's apartment to split the drugs. He said he wasn't sure what Veliz and Potter did with the guns.

Carlos was granted a deal by the state that reduced what could have been a life sentence in prison to a maximum of 15 years in exchange for his testimony. Attorneys say he could walk out of court with only probation.

Veliz’s attorney, Charlie Baird, said Friday that this would give Carlos the motivation to lie to benefit the state’s case.

"For the last year of your life in the Travis County Jail you have been thinking, 'How the hell am I going to get out of the mess?’” Baird asked Carlos in front of jurors. "Then they came and offered you a deal."

Carlos said he was being truthful in his testimony.

On cross-examination, Baird pointed to several inconsistencies between what Carlos initially told investigators and what his testimony on the witness stand, including that three other people were present when the trio planned the robbery.

Carlos, at first, said he could not remember if anyone else was there, but a Snapchat video he took that night showed six people in the apartment, and he admitted on the stand he had lied to police.

Veliz has pleaded not guilty to the murder. Defense attorneys are arguing that he was not present at the robbery, but that a third, unnamed party could be involved. The defense is expected to present its own witnesses starting next week.

Morey, whose family said they knew he sold marijuana, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. His mother testified Tuesday that he had been trying to turn his life around and had planned to take the entrance exam for the Air Force before he was killed.

Veliz and Potter could face a life sentence if found guilty of Morey's killing. Because both were 17 when they were charged, they would be eligible for parole after 40 years. Carlos will be sentenced by a judge after both of their trials conclude.