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IDAHO FALLS – The trial of an Idaho Falls man accused of second-degree murder began Tuesday.
In his first trial, 37-year-old Jake Eilander was clean-shaven in contrast to the thick-bearded mugshot. He was indicted on June 17 for second-degree murder after he shot and killed 44-year-old Ulysses Rangel behind Planet Fitness in Idaho Falls on March 30.
Islander pleaded not guilty on June 23 and is currently on trial before District Judge Steven Thompson.
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In opening arguments, Islander’s attorney Alexander Sosa argued that Islander acted in self-defense, detailing an account of Islander and his unnamed significant other walking down the street with their dog in front of a “person” who approached them and began attacking them. The dog also “throws obscenities” at them.
“(Eylander and his significant other) watch out for one person. He is wearing a dark hoodie and has an object in one hand and the other in his pocket. Jake watches it,” Sosa said. “He’s watching this guy pretty much put his pet down. To his relief, the pets jump. Then this person turns and starts approaching. Someone would have wanted to protect them.”
Related | A man has been charged with second-degree murder after his body was found behind a local gym
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Penelope North Saul argued that Islander shot the man in cold blood and that the case was not about what happened, but why it happened.
“Apply the rules of this court, and when you do that, you will come back with a decision that Mr. Islander is guilty of second degree murder.”
The defense called several witnesses on the first day, including Jessica Hunting, who found Rangel’s body.
Hunting told the emotional story of finding Rangel’s body behind Planet Fitness with her children in the car, which brought her to tears in the stands.
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“I yelled for him “Sir? Are you okay?” I watched his chest and it wasn’t moving,” Hunting said. “After seeing all the blood, I didn’t think it was a safe situation for my kids and it wasn’t a safe situation for me to get out of the car.”
Hunting says she called 911 as soon as she realized the man’s chest wasn’t moving.
The jury heard a 911 call where Hunting told the dispatcher that people had gone to a nearby soda shop, but no one had yet noticed the body.
“Right before I called 911 I pulled up next to him and called out my window to him and he didn’t move,” Hunting is heard saying on the 911 call.
Multiple detectives and officers from the Idaho Falls Police Department testified Tuesday, telling the jury about their roles in the investigation and the crime scene.
Ryan Pickard, the first officer on the scene, says he was the first to visually examine the body.
“I suspected he had a bullet hole in his chest, so I locked down the crime scene, set up a perimeter, and called detectives to come down to the scene,” Pickard said.
Upon arriving at the scene, Detective Christopher Reed testified, he followed a trail of blood from the body to the front of a nearby truck and flatbed trailer, which was later found to be registered to the Islander.
He testified that a “strange item” was found near the body, a small solar panel.
“There was a trail of blood and gore and a spent bullet casing,” Reid said. “In the shirt pocket (of the body), there was a copy of a U.S. identification card belonging to Ulysses Rangel.”
Detective Austin Belknap told the jury that security footage was obtained from two nearby businesses. The footage shows Rangel struggling to walk across the back of the parking lot behind Planet Fitness and then collapsing in front of two parked cars.
Related | Opening statements in the murder case will begin Tuesday after the jury is selected
More footage showed a zoomed-in clip of the three men frantically interacting near Eilander’s truck before a man in a black hoodie threw his arms out to the side and ran toward another.
The jury was also shown police bodycam footage from the night Islander was arrested, showing a large police presence outside a garage before the door opened and a woman came out and identified herself as Brandi Carlson.
Officers told Carlson to get on the ground before detaining Islander inside the garage. They found a .45-caliber Glock, the same type of gun used in the shooting.
Courtney Van Brunt, Brandi Carlson’s neighbor, also testified Tuesday. Van Brunt told the court that Eilander was a frequent visitor at her neighbor’s apartment, and on the day of the shooting, she was able to record Eilander and Carlson going to and from the apartment on her ringing doorbell.
Van Brunt also told the jury that she saw a little girl fall off her bike in front of her apartment, so she went outside to check on her.
Van Brunt says he heard a gunshot while outside. Minutes later, Carlson came out of the Planet Fitness back parking lot and Eilander headed in the opposite direction, Van Brunt says.
Chad Claxton, Islander’s friend for the past six years and an incarcerated witness, was the final witness. Claxton looked excited to see the Islander on the court, saying, “There’s nowhere he can lose that ugly mug.”
The jury heard a 911 call from Claxton saying he “thinks he knows who shot behind today’s old Smith.”
Claxton says he wishes it was an anonymous call, and his friend told him Eilander was in her garage after shooting someone.
Claxton told the court she called 911 in Islander because she knew someone was dead and the family had a right to know what happened. Also, he did it because Claxton was on parole and didn’t want to say anything and be incarcerated again.
The trial will continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Bonneville County Court. EastIdahoNews.com will have a reporter in the courtroom and we will keep the public informed as the trial progresses.
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