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May 13, 2008 8:40 pm US/Central
Jury Has First Ever "Cheese" Trial In Dallas Co.
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
History was made Tuesday in a Dallas County courtroom.
The jury now has the case in the first trial in the county involving the death of person caused by "Cheese" heroin. Cheese is a mixture of heroin and cold medicine.
It took just one day to try the case of Deleon Vanegas. The 20-year-old is accused of giving Cheese heroin to his girlfriend's younger brother. He is being charged with delivering a controlled substance to a minor and causing his death.
"I've been waiting for this for quite some time. I'm just looking for some closure," said the victim's father, Frank Cortez, Sr.
Prosecutors said 15-year-old Fernando Cortez, Jr. died in March 2007 after taking the drug. They argued that Vanegas showed the teenager how to snort the powder for the very first time.
The victim's father said he never met Vanegas despite the fact he was dating his daughter.
"They did not bring him around me because they knew how I felt about the people they hung around with," said Cortez. "The reason they didn't bring him around is because I would have ran him off."
The defense painted a different picture, arguing that the 15-year-old had a history of drug use. Vanegas' mother said while she feels for the Cortez family, she continues to defend her son.
"I never had any sleepless nights because of him. He was always at home. He was your typical teenager," said Rose Vanegas.
The jury went home for the night and will reconvene Wednesday morning.
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