AKRON, Ohio — The man accused of kidnapping four people and killing three of them in Summit County last year took the stand in his defense Tuesday, as both the state and the defense rested their cases.
Attorney Noah Munyer didn't waste any time getting to the point after his client, Elias Gudino, took the stand, asking whether Gudino shot victims Oscar Mejia-Gomez and Domingo Castillo-Reyes.
"No," he responded.
After five days of seeing the state's evidence and hearing witness testimony against him, Gudino offered a different story regarding the events that unfolded in March 2023.
Gudino claimed someone from the cartel he sold drugs with 15 years earlier showed up at his doorstep on March 9 and threatened his children and grandkids, getting emotional speaking about them. He told the jury the masked man called "Caso" never revealed his plan, but he alleged Caso had a gun pointed at him as he drove his own truck to Youngstown and helped tie up four roommates.
Gudino testified he didn't know the victims — not even the man living with his wife, whom they lured to the house. The state wasn't buying it.
"What are the odds the man you're luring over is the same man sleeping with your wife?" Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Kevin Mayer asked.
"I never knew he was sleeping with my wife," Gudino answered. "Why you have to say that?"
Gudino said Caso and another masked man ordered him to drive the hostages back to his house in Copley, where he bound and gagged them with rope and duct tape he had bought at Home Depot earlier in the day. Gudino claimed he bought them for his construction business.
Gudino asserted he was the driver as he and one of the masked men drove Mejia-Gomez and Castillo-Reyes to the side of a road in Copley. During testimony, he argued he remained in the vehicle while he heard two gunshots.
One bullet went through Mejia-Gomez's hat and grazed his head, and he survived by playing dead. Castillo-Reyes was killed, and the bodies of Inmer Reyes and Victor Varela-Rodriguez were found on the side of a road in Akron the next day.
Gudino's story contradicted his own version of events he told police during an interview the day after the murders. It also contradicted the surviving victim's testimony, with Mejia-Gomez saying Gudino had a gun throughout the kidnapping and that Gudino was calling the shots that night, rather than taking orders.
While at a gas station with police on March 10, Mejia-Gomez identified Gudino as the man who killed Castillo-Reyes. He also testified in court that Gudino was the one who shot and missed him.
Gudino insisted he only lied to police during his interview with them because he was afraid for his family.
"Did you believe that to be a real threat?" Munyer asked him.
"Yes," Gudino replied.
Gudino will be back in court on Thursday for closing arguments, then his fate will be in the hands of the jury.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Trial underway for triple murder suspect Elias Gudino in Summit County: Victims found bound and gagged
- Surviving victim testifies in Summit County triple murder trial of Elias Gudino
- Summit County triple murder trial of Elias Gudino continues: 'Intended target' takes stand
- Video of Copley police interviewing Elias Gudino shown at kidnapping and murder trial