FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Testimony on the third day of the trial of Cassandra Michael, the teen accused of helping in the shooting that killed Caleb Quick, focused on surveillance video and the movements of a white Tesla that investigators say was connected to the case.
On Tuesday afternoon, Clovis Police Detective Lovedeep Malhi walked the court through surveillance footage collected from the time leading up to the shooting and its aftermath.
“We collected video surveillance moments before the shooting and we expanded that search two hours before the shooting,” Malhi testified.
According to testimony and surveillance video shown in court, Quick left the Shop and Go with two friends while a suspect dressed in black followed closely behind. Moments later, the gunman ran up behind Quick, fired a shot and ran from the scene.
Malhi testified that Quick’s friends immediately responded after the shooting.
“I see the victim’s two friends. One of them begins to start rendering aid, and one, as you described, was one of the phone with 911,” Malhi said.
Video evidence presented in court also showed Michael leaving the Shop and Go and running from the gas station parking lot. Another video angle showed her sitting inside the same McDonald’s as Quick prior to the shooting.
Michael appeared in court Tuesday wearing a blue sweater and white-and-black sneakers. Prosecutors allege she used a white Tesla as a getaway vehicle on the night of Quick’s death in April of last year.
Investigators testified that they learned from trial witness Michael Dexter that Michael drove a white Tesla. Malhi also testified that a school resource officer confirmed she had a parking permit for the vehicle.
Surveillance footage shown in court placed the Tesla outside the McDonald’s at Willow and Nees about an hour before the shooting, around 7:45 p.m. According to testimony, Michael, who was wearing a black shirt with pink writing, exited the vehicle along with the suspected gunman and two other individuals. Michael and the suspected shooter later left the area. After 8:30 p.m., the Tesla returned to the McDonald’s and parked farther away.
When asked when he next observed Michael at the restaurant, Malhi testified: “Immediately after the shooting.”
The detective also described video from a nearby business that showed the Tesla traveling quickly on Nees Avenue around 9 p.m. The vehicle passed a white truck, then returned and made a U-turn moments later.
Additional footage shown in court depicted the suspected gunman running into a neighborhood on Jordan Avenue, where investigators say the white Tesla picked up the suspect before leaving the area.
Investigators later used city cameras near Shepherd and Clovis avenues to track the vehicle. According to testimony, the footage showed the Tesla entering the intersection shortly after 9 p.m. and turning onto Clovis Avenue, which detectives said was in the direction of where the suspect lived.
The hearing is scheduled to continue Wednesday at 9 a.m.
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