After ignoring a subpoena and evading arrest, a key witness took the stand Friday in the murder trial of a man accused of killing an Arvada police officer.

Jerry Lopez, arrested Thursday after four days on the run, appeared in court in an orange jail jumpsuit.

Prosecutors called Lopez to describe the events leading up to, and after, Arvada police officer Dillon Vakoff was shot and killed. Vakoff was murdered in the line of duty while responding to a child custody dispute in September 2022. Sonny Almanza, 32, faces eight counts, including first-degree murder with extreme indifference.

Lopez described himself as Almanza’s brother-in-law. Lopez’ sister, Lexis, is the mother of Almanza’s two daughters, aged 5 and 2.

While on the stand, Lopez was often intolerant of questioning and, at one point, he cussed at a prosecutor and at First Judicial District Judge Russell Klein.

He explained that he was angry at First Judicial Chief District Attorney Brenna Zortman’s repeated questions about his intoxicated state the night of the murder.

“You don’t remember the gun shots?” asked Zortman.

Lopez answered, “I was (explicative) intoxicated! What are you talking about? That’s bulls***. I was drunk then, and I was drunk when the interviewers were talking to me.”

Earlier, Lopez said that he had been drinking since 5 p.m. the day before the early-morning homicide and was “blacked out.”

His testimony got so heated that Klein asked the 14-person jury to leave the room and explained to Lopez that questioning during a trial can often seem “peculiar” but that Zortman was doing her job to get information. He asked Lopez to please “focus on the questions and on responding.”

The night Vakoff was shot and killed, he and his partner Offier Daniel Garibay were responding to a custody dispute between Almanza and Lopez’ families, which quickly escalated into a violent brawl. The officers pulled up at 6753 West 51^st Ave. just before 2 a.m.

During the chaos, Almanza allegedly shot and killed Vakoff with an AR-15, according to prosecutors, just as the 27-year-old officer was attempting to break up the fighting.

Lopez said that he kicked Almanza in the face, as Garibay, who was tending to Vakoff, screamed for Lopez to “knock it off” and get on the ground.

Footage from Vakoff’s body-worn camera, as well as video angles from two other officers, were shown for the first time publicly on Thursday.

Almanza claimed numerous times that night that he did not know he shot an officer.

During the trial Friday, Zortman hauled out an AR-15 and showed it to Lopez, who admitted that it was his rifle, which he had stored in Almanza’s home. It was unclear whether this was the same gun that was used to shoot Vakoff, but prosecutors said Almanza went into his apartment to retrieve an AR-15 and two magazines after fighting broke out.

Lopez also testified that two magazines, which were found at the crime scene and shown to him by Zortman, also belonged to him.

Jerry Lopez said that he remembered very little about that night because he was “blacked out drunk.” He said he did recall driving to the area intending to “beat Sonny’s a**.”

He also said that he considered Almanza “family” and that when members of their families got into fights, they always made up.

He did not look at Almanza during this testimony, but appeared to glance at him as he stepped down from the stand.

Almanza’s attorney, Nancy Holton, noted that Lopez would be released from jail and his $10,000 bond lifted after his testimony.

The trial is in its second day of testimony. On Thursday, several testified, including Vakoff’s partner, Garibay, their supervisor that night, a Wheat Ridge police detective, the Jefferson County Coroner and an Arvada police crime scene expert.

The trial is expected to last until late next week.

Almanza faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious felony.