TYLER, Texas — Editor's note: The above video is from June 2019.
Multiple witnesses of a 2019 Lake Palestine boat crash that killed a 14-year-old Tyler boy testified Tuesday that the boat driver was intoxicated, moving the vehicle recklessly and driving at a high rate of speed ahead of the wreck.
The punishment phase in the trial of Jeffrey Joe Hampton, 34, of Tyler, began Tuesday in connection with the death of Roberto "Carlos" Bermejo, 14, on June 2, 2019.
Hampton pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter for striking and killing Bermejo with a boat on Lake Palestine. The teen was swimming at Lakeway Harbor on Lake Palestine when Hampton's bass boat crashed.
Hampton asked for a jury trial to determine his punishment in the sentencing phase.
Smith County Assistant District Attorney Noah Coltman said on June 2, 2019, Judith Hernandez took her three youngest kids, including Carlos and his two younger sisters, to go swimming at the lake, which was a decision she would regret for the rest of her life.
"They had no idea what was coming for him until it was too late," he said.
Hampton and his passengers were heading toward a boat ramp to go home and on the way there was seven to 10 kids at a pier. The evidence will show that Hampton was intoxicated, Coltman said.
The boat drove straight through that pier with a crowd of kids in the water, Coltman told jurors.
Coltman said game wardens reconstructed the crash and the propeller of the boat hit Carlos in the head while Carlos shielded his younger sister from the boat.
Coltman asked the jury to give Hampton a life sentence.
Hampton's attorney Mishae Boren said since the crash nearly three years ago, Hampton has carried a great amount of guilt.
Texas Game Warden Zach Temple testified the driver of the boat in the crash, who was later identified as Hampton, left the scene. Temple called the scene of the pier after the wreck "heartbreaking" and "gruesome."
Hampton's actions were at least reckless in his operation of the boat, and the boat was capable of causing serious bodily injury or death, Temple said.
Another game warden testified about a reconstruction of the wreck that wardens completed based on physical evidence and witness statements.
When a propeller is outside of water, it cuts and damages the property or whatever is in its path, the warden said.
The causes of the wreck include excessive speed, reckless operation, alcohol consumption and no one acting as a lookout, the warden testified.
Amber Mettlen, who witnessed the boat coming toward the pier, said she was at Lake Palestine with her kids, her cousin Hunter Mettlen and his friend Daniel. She heard panicked screaming and yelling, "move, get out of the way," from inside the boat.
She ran to the shore to keep her kids away from the crash, and she returned to see everyone gathered around Carlos in shock and removing him from the water.
The boat that struck Carlos left immediately after the collision. It appeared to be going at full speed, Amber Mettlen said.
Hunter Mettlen testified he and his cousin had been at the pier nearly all day on June 2, 2019 before he saw the boat looping around near the pier. He testified he saw the boat coming but he couldn't even get to his feet before the boat struck the dock.
He told the jury Carlos and his family were relaxing around the pier just before the crash. After the wreck, Hunter Mettlen said he pulled out Carlos' younger sister out of the water and then removed Carlos' body as well.
Hunter Mettlen testified no one has any business going at such a high speed near the pier with kids in the water. The way the boat driven showed reckless action by the driver.
Mettlen's friend Daniel said he grabbed the Mettlens and then the boat smashed through the pier and left the scene.
"For me, it is just completely out of my mind. There's no way I could have left him (Carlos) there," Daniel said.
Daniel said he and Hunter Mettlen found Carlos' young sister uninjured under the water covered in her brother's blood. They then took Carlos' body out of the water.
Jurors were also shown photos of the pier smashed as well as a photo of Daniel holding Carlos.
"(The boat) went directly through and into Carlos' head and ended his life," Daniel said.
A Smith County Sheriff's Office deputy who responded to the boating crash at Lakeway Harbor testified the witnesses were distraught when he arrived.
The deputy said he had to hold Carlos' mother back as she was emotional at the scene of the crash. The deputy testified that he later located Hampton at a house in one of the rooms that had a strong smell of alcohol.
Hampton was asleep when deputies found him and he was taken into custody without any conflict, the deputy testified.
Game Warden Brad Clark testified that a person who was in the boat with Hampton told him that everyone in the boat had been drinking alcohol all day at the lake. That was a common statement among other passengers in the boat.
Clark said investigators took multiple photos of the boat, showing both full and empty beer cans were inside the vehicle. When Hampton was arrested the next day for manslaughter, he smelled of alcohol, Clark testified.
Passengers of the vehicle believed Hampton wasn't paying attention to how he was driving the boat ahead of crashing into the pier, Clark told jurors.
Clark testified on the stand that the boat propeller caused Carlos' death. If the boat had stopped at the scene, the occupants would have seen the death and injuries the crash caused.
Clark returned to the stand to testify about a video of Hampton driving the boat near a gas pump, which Clark said was reckless and not normal boating behavior.
Jessica Chapman, who was on the boat with Hampton, testified everyone on the boat was drinking some type of alcohol. She said Hampton was driving the boat fast and doing donuts prior to the crash.
She testified that as the boat neared the pier, she yelled at people to get out of the way.
She and others on the boat believed no one was hurt because they saw people get off the pier. People on the boat encouraged Hampton to get the boat out of the water, Chapman said.
Chapman testified that she and the others all had been previously arrested on DWI charges.
She later got a call about a boy dying because of the crash at the pier after someone she knew saw the wreck on the news. Chapman then said she called a relative who works for the Smith County Sheriff's Office.
"It was an accident. We didn't think anyone had been hurt," Chapman said.
Chapman was then shown photos and videos of herself, Hampton and others on the boat on June 2, 2019 while Hampton was driving fast on the water and jumping waves.
Austin Hutchison, another passenger in the boat, testified he attempted to warn Hampton of the pier before the crash, and afterward Hampton headed back to the boat ramp.
Hutchison told the jury he tried to get Hampton to go back to the pier out of concern that someone might have been injured.
Hutchison had known Hampton for about five years before 2019 and after Hampton had gotten out of prison. From what he knew, Hampton was doing well after serving time in prison.
According to Hutchison, the boat crash was pure negligence on Hampton’s part and entering a guilty plea was the right thing to do.
Testimony will continue Wednesday morning.