The suspect in Ottawa’s first homicide in 10 years was in court last week at a preliminary hearing. Nearly 40 witnesses were subpoenaed to appear at the hearing that was intended to present evidence for the basis of a trial. The major news coming out of the hearing was that Anthony Alvarado intends to pursue a self defense claim in the death of his roommate, Dalton Presley, at their residence at 11th and Ash, in Ottawa.
A motion to retest Presley’s blood for the presence of drugs, specifically cocaine, was granted. Review of evidence told the story of Presley openly discussing on tape, stating the first thing he was going to do when he got home that day was to “blow a line”. Apparently he also communicated his intention to use coke that day to another witness and invited him to “hit him up” if he wanted to party. The defense stated that if, in fact Presley had been using cocaine shortly before the fight with Alvarado, that would be evidence supporting Alvarado’s theory that Presley was the aggressor in the fight that led to his death.
However, the initial screening of Presley’s blood indicated only alcohol, caffeine and THC in his system. The defense agreed to obtain funding for the retest by a qualified expert. Alvarado was bound over for arraignment, which will take place on June 12th at 2:00 in the afternoon.
