NAMPA, Idaho — After hours of witness and detective testimony Wednesday, a judge bound the case against 18-year-old Alissa Huerta over to district court on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of 19-year-old Jade Ramirez.
Huerta, is accused of intentionally running Ramirez over in a Nampa parking lot on July 26.
Idaho News 6 previously reported on the case when Nampa police responded to a parking lot in the 1500 block of Caldwell Boulevard around 4:20 a.m. Officers found Ramirez suffering from life-threatening injuries. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
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Several people who were inside Huerta's car that night testified during Wednesday's preliminary hearing.
Witnesses described an altercation in the parking lot involving Ramirez, a baseball bat and Huerta's Honda.
Several testified that Ramirez struck Huerta's vehicle with the bat.
Witnesses also described the car beginning to leave the parking lot before turning around and heading back toward Ramirez.
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At least two witnesses testified that they believed Huerta intentionally hit Ramirez.
Another witness, testified that she saw Ramirez get hit but did not believe the impact was intentional.
WATCH | Hours of testimony focused on what happened inside and outside Huerta’s car before Ramirez was struck
Other passengers described hearing comments about running Ramirez over.
Detectives also testified about alleged cocaine use before the incident.
Investigators said Huerta was seen in Snapchat videos appearing to use cocaine before the incident. Detectives also testified that what they believed to be cocaine was found in Huerta's vehicle.
A toxicology result discussed in court also referenced cocaine and cocaine metabolites.
Detectives presented video of the altercation in the parking lot and testimony about evidence recovered from Huerta's phone.
Investigators also played audio recovered from the phone and described messages Huerta allegedly sent after the incident, including messages in which she said she ran her over.
Police previously said investigators recovered a video that appeared to show Huerta's vehicle strike and run over Ramirez. They also said a deleted audio recording from Huerta's phone appeared to discuss the possibility that she had run Ramirez over.
Huerta's defense argued she was reacting to Ramirez striking her car with the baseball bat.
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The defense pointed to damage to the Honda, including damage near the driver's side, and argued that video shown in court appeared to show Ramirez continuing toward the vehicle.
The defense also emphasized that the original reason for the meetup behind Ross was a planned fight between Ramirez and Huerta's sister — not Huerta herself.
The defense argued the incident happened quickly and was a reaction to the confrontation rather than a premeditated act.
After hearing testimony from multiple witnesses and detectives, the judge determined the case should move forward in district court on the first-degree murder charge.
Huerta's next court appearance is scheduled for October 2 at 10:30 a.m., when she is expected to be arraigned in district court.
The allegations against Huerta have not been proven in court.
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