Opening statements begin in murder trial for local man accused in shooting death behind Planet Fitness
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IDAHO FALLS – The second day in a trial for an Idaho Falls man accused of second-degree murder began Tuesday.
Jake Eilander, 37, appeared clean-shaven, as opposed to his thick-bearded mugshot, during his second day of trial. He was indicted on charges of second-degree murder on June 17, after the alleged shooting death of 44-year-old Ulysses Rangel behind Planet Fitness in Idaho Falls on March 30.
Eilander pleaded not guilty on June 23 and is currently standing trial in front of District Judge Stevan Thompson.
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In opening arguments, Eilander’s attorney Alexander Sosa argued Eilander acted in self-defense, detailing a narrative of Eilander and his significant other, who was not named, walking down the street with their dog before an “individual”, approached them and began attacking their dog and “throwing profanities” at them.
“(Eilander and his significant other) notice an individual. He’s wearing a dark hoodie, he’s got an object in one hand, the other one is in his pocket. Jake is watching this,” Sosa said. “He’s watching this person almost bearing down on his pet. To his relief, the pet jumps away. Then this individual turns and starts approaching. Anybody would have wanted their significant other to protect them.”
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Deputy prosecuting attorney, Penelope North Shaul, argued that Eilander shot the man in cold blood, saying the case is not about what happened but rather why it happened.
“Apply the laws of this court, and when you do that, you will come back with the decision that Mr. Eilander is guilty of second-degree murder.”
The defense called many witnesses, including Jessica Hunting, the woman who found Rangel’s body.
Hunting recounted the emotional story of her finding Rangel’s body behind Planet Fitness with her children in the car, causing her to tear up on the stand.
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“I yelled for him “Sir? Are you okay?” And I was watching his chest, and it wasn’t moving,” Hunting said. “After I saw all of 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 as soon as she realized the man’s chest was not moving, she called 911.
The jury listened to the 911 call, where Hunting told the dispatcher there were people in line for the nearby soda shop, but nobody had noticed the body yet.
“I pulled right up next to him and yelled at him out my window right before I called 911, and he did not move,” Hunting is heard saying in the 911 call.
Multiple detectives and officers with the Idaho Falls Police Department also testified Tuesday, telling the jury about their roles in the investigation and the crime scene.
Officer Ryan Picard, the first officer on the scene, says he was the first to visually examine the body.
“I found it suspicious that there appeared to be a bullet hole in his chest, so I locked down the crime scene, put up a perimeter, and called detectives to come down to the scene,” Picard said.
Detective Christopher Reed testified when he arrived at the scene, he followed a trail of blood from the body to the front of a nearby truck and flatbed trailer, which was later discovered to be registered to Eilander.
He also testified a “peculiar item,” a small solar panel, was found next to the body.
“There was a trail of blood and blood splatter and a spent bullet casing,” Reed said. “In the shirt pocket (of the body), there was a copy of a U.S. identification card, belonging to a Ulysses Rangel.”
Detective Austin Belnap told the jury he received security footage from two nearby businesses. The footage shown depicted Rangel struggling to walk through the back of the parking lot behind Planet Fitness, then collapsing in front of two parked cars.
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Further footage showed a very zoomed-in clip of three people frantically interacting near Eilander’s truck before a man in a black hoodie stretches his arms sideways, runs toward another person, and then all three people walk out of frame.
The jury was also shown police bodycam footage from the night Eilander was arrested, showing a large police presence outside a garage before the door was opened and a woman came outside, identifying herself as Brandy Carlson.
Officers told Carlson to get on the ground before they moved to detain Eilander inside the garage. They found a 45-caliber Glock, the same type of gun reportedly used in the shooting.
Courtnee Van Brunt, a neighbor of Brandy Carlson, was also a witness Tuesday. Van Brunt told the court that Eilander frequently visited her neighbor’s apartment, and on the day of the shooting, she was able to record both Eilander and Carlson leaving and returning to the apartment on her Ring doorbell.
Van Brunt also told the jury she saw a little girl fall off her bike in front of her apartment, so she went outside to check on her.
While outside, Van Brunt says she heard a gunshot. Minutes later, Carlson came from the Planet Fitness back parking lot, and Van Brunt says Eilander went in the opposite direction.
The last witness was Chad Claxton, an incarcerated witness and friend of Eilander’s for the past six years. Claxton appeared excited to see Eilander in court, saying he “couldn’t miss that ugly mug anywhere.”
The jury heard a 911 call from Claxton saying he “thinks he knew who did the shooting behind the old Smiths today.”
Claxton then says he wants this to be an anonymous call, and his friend told him Eilander shot someone and was in her garage.
Claxton told the court he called 911 on Eilander because he knew a man was dead, and the family had a right to know what happened. Also, he did it because Claxton was on parole and did not want to risk not saying anything and being re-incarcerated.
The trial will continue on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 9 a.m. at the Bonneville County Courthouse. EastIdahoNews.com will have a reporter in the courtroom, and we will update the public as the trial progresses.