CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The shooting death of a 17-year-old by an off-duty Department of Public Safety trooper in Corpus Christi last year is now the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the parents of Ronald "Nano" Elizondo Jr., who was shot and killed by State Trooper Donald Hinote July 10, 2019, at a home in the 7000 block of Clubgate Drive in Corpus Christi's southside.. Officials say the shooting happened while Elizondo was breaking into cars in the neighborhood.
Hinote has since been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing and remains on the job. A wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday now includes video that calls the events of that night into question.
WARNING: The following video is graphic and may not be suitable for all audiences.
At the start of the video, you see the DPS trooper, who we now know to be Donald Hinote, run out of his home with a gun in his hand and toward a car parked on the street.
He then stops and yells 'Hey, get out of there' to a person inside the parked car. In a span of two seconds, the teen tries to flee as Hinote fires four shots.
The video ends with Hinote standing with his gun still aimed at the teen as he lay on the ground groaning in pain.
The footage came from a security camera at Hinote's home. The whole incident takes just 12 seconds, but it forever changed the lives of the parents of Elizondo.
The video offers a different explanation of the incident than what investigators originally released to 3News back in 2019.
First, investigators say the teen was breaking into a car in Hinote's driveway. However, the car in question was parked on a neighborhood street.
Second, investigators also said Hinote shot the teen after a struggle. This video does not show any struggle between Hinote or Elizondo.
To be transparent -- This is the only piece of video that has been released in this case. At this time, we do not know what, if anything, happened before or after this 12-second video.
The Corpus Christi Police Department investigated the shooting and the District Attorney Mark Gonzalez presented the case to a Grand Jury, which returned a "no bill" indictment meaning no charges. Gonzalez said the decision was just.
"My sincere condolences go out to the Elizondo family for what happened and occurred," Gonzalez said. "It was tragic but you know, we got this case, we presented it to the Grand Jury, which is made up of 12 individuals from the community, and under the law they felt that there was not enough to go forward regarding this case, and so I stand by the community decision."
Gonzalez went on to say that Hinote acted within his rights.
"Under the law, in the night time a property owner has the right to use deadly force when protecting his property or a third person's property," Gonzalez said.
The shooting happened during a rash of car break-ins on the southside of Corpus Christi. When Hinote's security alarm alerted him to movement in the front yard, he responded.
The Elizondo family's attorney, Wes Bearden, said the video speaks for itself.
"Anybody that sees that video, sees obviously somebody that basically ambushed our underage child," Bearden said. "His total command to him was, 'Hey, get out of there,' and then shot him as he was doing what he was told.'"
The suit also states that "after the shooting, Trooper Hinote did not immediately render aid to Nano."
Using video footage as evidence, the family claims as much as five minutes lapsed between Hinote's shots and his rendering of aid to the teen.
"Obviously we're concerned that across the country we've got people dying for what? Basically Mickey Mouse crimes," Bearden said. "That should have resulted in having him a trip down to juvenile hall, not the county morgue. That's what we'd like to address. We don't believe, that trooper didn't have the right to be judge, jury and executioner."
3News reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment. They responded by email, saying "We appreciate your patience as we look into your inquiry."