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Prosecutors told jurors on Tuesday that Patrick Saavedra first argued with an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 security guard, then fatally shot a homeless man who attempted to intercede.

The attorney made opening statements in the trial of Saavedra, 41, who is charged with first-degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of 38-year-old Michael Sanchez in Downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

Saavedra鈥檚 attorney countered that Sanchez pretended to point a gun at Saavedra as he approached Saavedra鈥檚 truck at in the moments before the killing.

The 2nd Judicial District Court trial is scheduled to continue through Friday before Judge Clara Moran.

Sanchez鈥檚 killing was preceded by a noisy argument between Saavedra and an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 security guard that drew the attention of other guards and brought Sanchez away from his nearby encampment, attorneys said.

鈥淧atrick Saavedra wanted to kill someone,鈥� prosecutor Josh Hasyniec told jurors. 鈥淗e did just that when he shot the decedent in this case, Michael Sanchez, in the chest, in the heart, with a .45-caliber bullet fired at point-blank range.鈥�

Hasyniec told jurors that Saavedra shot Sanchez as the unarmed homeless man stood at the passenger window of Saavedra鈥檚 pickup on Dec. 9, 2021.

鈥淭ragically, engaging with the defendant was Mr. Sanchez鈥檚 fatal mistake,鈥� Hasyniec said. Saavedra earlier had threatened to shoot a security guard in the face, he said.

Saavedra鈥檚 attorney, Robert Cooper, acknowledged that Saavedra fired the fatal shot after Sanchez emerged from his encampment near First and Gold SW.

But Cooper told jurors that moments before the shooting, Sanchez stood in the middle of the intersection pretending to hold a gun and yelling, 鈥淵ou better get away from my security guards.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 one step away from the truck and he puts his hands out鈥� as though holding a gun, Cooper said. Sanchez later put his hands on the passenger door of Saavedra鈥檚 pickup, and the two men argued, he said.

Saavedra saw a shimmer from Sanchez鈥檚 jewelry, leading Saavedra to believe that the homeless man was holding a gun, Cooper said.

鈥淧atrick (Saavedra) is going to tell you why he felt that his life was in danger鈥� when he testifies later in the trial, Cooper told jurors.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 police responded shortly before midnight and found Sanchez lying in First NW with a gunshot in his chest.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 metro security guards told police that the gunman was driving a white pickup that fled the area after the shooting.

A guard provided police with a photo of the truck that showed the truck鈥檚 license plate number. Police traced the license plate to a home in a West Side neighborhood, near Los Volcanes and Coors, where Saavedra was taken into custody early the next morning.

The night of the killing, Saavedra met with a friend at Knockouts bar on Central, where he drank a number of strong drinks called 鈥渢rash cans鈥� before stumbling out to his truck near midnight, Cooper told jurors.

Saavedra was 鈥渧ery intoxicated鈥� when he found a parking citation on his truck, Cooper said. Minutes later, Saavedra began following a city-owned vehicle driven by a security guard whom Saavedra assumed had issued the citation, he said.

This led to a shouting match between Saavedra and the security guard, Jeremy Aragon, as the two men sat in their vehicles on First Street in front of the Alvarado Transportation Center, witnesses testified Tuesday.

The noisy chatter on Aragon鈥檚 radio prompted another guard, Cristobal Hernandez, to exit the Alvarado Transportation Center and stand beside Aragon鈥檚 vehicle, where he took multiple photos of Saavedra and his truck.