Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims on Thursday rejected an attempt by a former Jacksonville police officer, accused of threatening a pair of Little Rock teenagers at gunpoint, to challenge the teens' identification of him as their assailant.
Juan Francisco Matus-Rios was fired from the Jacksonville Police Department after he was accused of forcing the teenagers' pickup to stop in the middle of the road in front of Pulaski Academy on Sept. 13, yanking the driver, Tag Grace, out of the truck at gunpoint and manhandling him on the ground.
He's also accused of threatening Grace's passenger, Kyle Parham, 18, with a gun during the encounter on Hinson Road.
Matus-Rios was reportedly angry because someone in the truck had thrown a can out the window striking the off-duty officer's pickup, according to testimony Thursday.
When the teens denied throwing the can, Matus-Rios apologized and let them go, according to testimony.
Matus-Rios is charged with terroristic threatening, misdemeanor battery and two counts of aggravated assault, charges that together carry up to 18 years in prison. He's scheduled to stand trial next month.
Matus-Rios, who joined Jacksonville police in July 2013, was arrested six days after the encounter because Grace, 19, Parham and two girls riding with them, sisters Molly and Meredith Overton, picked Matus-Rios out of a photographic lineup.
Defense attorney Bill James questioned whether any of the teens got a good enough look to identify Matus-Rios, but the judge ruled their descriptions of him would stand.
Also testifying was a passing motorist who described seeing the encounter with the teens and a badge-wearing man in the middle of Hinson Road.
Questioned by deputy prosecutor Jill Kamps, Robert Mann of Little Rock told the judge he and his wife were driving by when they heard yelling and saw one pickup had stopped diagonally and blocked the other.
Mann testified that he saw a man, wearing a badge around his neck, approach the second truck with a gun displayed and the young driver raised his hands in a "don't hurt me manner."
The man grabbed the driver's wrist and twisted it to get him out of the truck and onto the ground, Mann told the judge, estimating that he was only about 10 feet away.
Mann said he and his wife stopped to watch what was happening to make sure they got a good look.
"I was fixated on the gun being put in the kid's face," Mann told the judge, saying the driver appeared to be "shielding" his face from the weapon. "I stopped to make sure I was seeing everything accurately."
Mann said he repositioned his car, then saw both trucks drive into a school parking lot.
He and his wife moved into a neighboring lot, about 40 to 50 feet from the two trucks, and continued watching, Mann told the judge.
When the man with the gun drove away, Mann said, he and his wife attempted to follow him, hoping they could eventually direct police to him.
He said he and his wife were driving at 50 mph to keep up with the man, but he was still able to pull away.
Mann acknowledged that he had not been able to conclusively identify Matus-Rios in the photographic lineup, but said he is certain the defendant is the man he saw. Mann said he got a good look at the man's profile that night but never got a clear look at him head-on.
But Mann said he recognized Matus-Rios on Thursday as the assailant after seeing him in profile at the court hearing.
Metro on 04/18/2015