Charles City, IA- We're getting our first look at the blood stained weapon from a Charles City murder case.
Richard Cortez is being tried on charges he stabbed one man to death and wounded two others.
The prosecution picked up where it left off Wednesday. They’re calling more witnesses and members of law enforcement to the stand. They're identifying Richard Cortez as the man who pulled a knife during a fight last may.
Zach Schilling is now working as a bartender at Tori's in Charles City. On the night Kenyon Armstrong died he was working as the bar's DJ. He told the jury he saw Cortez make a motion toward Armstrong.
"I came down out of the DJ booth and as I rounded the corner I saw the defendant throw his hand out into the Kenyon's chest," Schilling said.
Once he got to Cortez. Schilling says he took a weapon out of his hand.
"I looked in his hands and in his right hand he had a knife, I pushed his fingers back took the knife and that's where it stayed in my hand," he said.
Shortly after, Charles City Police Officer Kevin Beaver arrived on scene. His dashboard camera captured the chaos he found. Once officer Beaver got inside, he says he found Richard Cortez on the ground. Beaver says Cortez wasn't cooperating with his commands.
"He had his hands on the raised dance floor and he leaned back on his knees and swung and assaulted me,” the prosecution then asked, “What did he use to assault you?” Beaver responded, “he used a cast on his arm."
The prosecution is also showing the jury the weapon found at the scene. The same one Tori's manager John Hayen took from Schilling that night.
"The handle was wrapped in toilet paper or a napkin, what did you do with the knife, I handed it off to Johnny Krueger to get out of, off the dance floor and behind the bar by the tills," Hayen said.
A lab specialist from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says the blood on the knife matches that of the victims, including Kenyon Armstron, Cyrus Riley, and Robert Lucket.
The trial resumes on Monday. The prosecution will call on the state medical examiner. There are no proceedings Friday due to state furloughs.
