A friend of the Mexican immigrant arrested Sunday on suspicion of killing a Dallas police officer described him as a good person who becomes aggressive when he drinks.
Juan Lizcano had a few drinks Saturday evening at the 2001 nightclub on Stemmons Freeway, and later headed to the home of Marta Cruz, said Jose Fernandez, who accompanied Lizcano first to the club, then to the woman's house on Sunday morning.
"When he's sober, he's a good person," said Fernandez, who was questioned by police and then released. "I told him we should go home, but he wouldn't listen. He was very angry when we returned to her house."
Police said they responded early Sunday to a disturbance call at Cruz's home on North Henderson and were told that Lizcano had threatened his ex-girlfriend and fired a handgun inside the house. He was gone by the time officers arrived.
About 45 minutes later, officers were notified that Lizcano had returned to the home. Officers pursued him on foot as the suspect jumped over fences and ran through yards toward Madera Street, police said.
Officer Brian Jackson died of a wound to his right underarm, near his protective vest, suffered in a gunfight on Madera Street in Old East Dallas.
Fernandez said he never imagined his friend was armed, and especially that he was capable of murder. He told police he didn't see or hear anything, not even when Lizcano allegedly fired inside Cruz's house, or when he returned and got into the gunbattle with Jackson.
He insists he stayed inside Lizcano's pickup truck on both occasions and was unaware of what his friend did when he entered the house.
Fernandez, a bricklayer native of Michoacan, said he has no role in the officer's death. He said he intends to visit Lizcano in jail and saw no reason to hire a lawyer.
Lizcano lives in Oak Cliff and shares a house with his brother, Silvestre. Both are natives of Doctor Arroyo, Nuevo Leon, said Hermelindo Ruiz, the suspect's uncle.
"I didn't know Juan had a gun," Ruiz said.
Lizcano's uncle said he was worried about his nephew's future and added that they have not let his mother know "because she's sure to get sick."
According to Ruiz, Juan Lizcano was living in the country illegally, working as a gardener. He described his nephew as calm and said he was unaware of his drinking.
By Sunday evening, neither Lizcano nor his family had sought aid from the Mexican government, said Hugo Juarez, alternate consul of the Mexican Consulate General in Dallas.
Juarez said Dallas police had not notified him they had arrested a Mexican citizen on a capital morder charge, which could carry a posible death sentence. It was possible the police had faxed or e-mailed a statement to the consulate, he said.
"We have an obligation to interview and help him because he's facing the possibility of death," Juarez said.
In similar cases, he said. the Mexican government has a special program for its citizens. "It is our obligation to give him the best possible defense," Juarez said.