Attorneys for 2nd man charged in connection to triple homicide say it’s a clear case of self defense

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - More than two weeks after the Theodore Dawes Road triple homicide -- the other side continues to come into focus.

“My understanding is the individuals that are deceased were the initial aggressors and that this would be a self defense case,” explained defense attorney Christine Hernandez. “I believe we are going to have some phone records to support what I’m saying happened.”

Killed on January 18th were brothers Marco Alvarado and Cristian Aponte, and their brother-in-law Angel Esparra.

Hernandez represents 21-year-old Adriel Pina -- the man they were fighting with. Adriel was allegedly involved with one of their wives and lured under false pretenses by text message.

“He didn’t go looking for trouble. One thing I can tell you is -- if you don’t like what your spouse is doing -- then perhaps you should go talk with a divorce attorney or go talk with someone else. But there’s absolutely no reason to lure someone in for any reason -- to cause any amount of harm,” said Hernandez.

A chase down I-10 eastbound would take them across state lines from Mississippi to Alabama. Adriel called his uncle Anthony Morales-Rivera, whom he lives with in Theodore, for help -- telling him three armed men were chasing him.

According to Anthony’s attorney -- by the time he got there -- all three were beating Adriel. Anthony would join in and eventually retrieve his pistol after one of the men went to get something in the console of their car. Anthony shot and killed all three. It’s still unclear if any of the men were armed with a weapon.

Both Anthony and Adriel would flee to Puerto Rico. Investigators tracking them to Hattiesburg and even have pictures of them at the airport ticket counter in Nashville.

They would both turn themselves in -- Adriel still awaiting extradition in Puerto Rico -- while Anthony remains in Metro Jail on a $4.5-million dollar bond.

“Guilty people don’t try to clear their name -- innocent people do. At the end of the day -- someone was afraid for their life and called for help like any of us would. And unfortunately these were the results,” said ChaLea Tisdale, defense attorney.

Tisdale is also helping defend Adriel and says their top priority is to get him back from Puerto Rico.

“Well, obviously -- we don’t have easy access to him -- if he were here we’d be able to go to Metro. We don’t want him talking on a jail phone -- that kind of stuff. So, it makes it difficult. So we are trying to find out what we can here -- until he gets here,” explained Tisdale.

And they say what they have so far -- is a clear case of self defense -- and hope investigators take into account there’s way more to this case.

“You’d also have to ask the investigators did you consider -- that this was self defense or was your first thought -- we have three dead people and these people are guilty of murder -- never taking into account what the other side of the story is and how things transpired,” said Hernandez. “And they’ve got a lot on them -- they’re trying to close cases and things like that -- and I get that. But in this case -- I think there needs to be a little more investigation as far as what actually transpired. And I know that the family of the deceased came out and they contacted the news -- and said hey let’s get our story out -- unfortunately -- they are telling you what they believe -- we are telling you what we believe and it’s probably going to take a jury to actually decide.”

Adriel is charged with hindering prosecution and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Hernandez says she expects her client to be extradited to Mobile very soon -- but if something comes up -- she is prepared to go to Puerto Rico and bring him back.