Lexington Police Department Investigator Michael Baker was recalled to the witness stand Wednesday morning in the 1st Degree Murder trial of 35-year-old Aristh Rodriguez-Linares before a Dawson County District Court jury in Lexington. Rodriguez-Linares is accused in the shooting death of Maykel Farinas Carballo outside of a Lexington residence on January 21, 2025.
Numerous photos were shown to jurors of Baker’s steps in his investigation in recovering fingerprint evidence from the victim’s car and bullet trajectory inside the car along with recovery of bags of methamphetamine and cocaine from behind the gas cap lid. Clothing that the victim wore were displayed in court showing where bullets had entered the body.
During cross-examination, Defense Attorney David Tarrell questioned some of Baker’s trajectory analysis and why DNA testing was not conducted on a pack of cigarettes found with a package of drugs behind the gas cap lid.
An interview Baker conducted with a girl the day after the homicide was played in court. The girl had told a school teacher she had some information about the shooting. Tarrell noted some inconsistencies in the interview answers and questioned the witness’s written statement.
Former Lexington Police Department Investigtor Luke Pinkelman testified about his role in the investigation that night. He said he made contact with Rodriguez-Linares at the Police Station where he took photos of him and his hands. Pinkelman also collected Rodriguez-Linares’ cell phone which was analyzed by the Kearney Police Department. The phone showed 10 calls by the victim, Farinas-Ceballo to Rodriguez-Linares starting at 9:30pm through 10:45pm that evening. Pinkelman says only one of those calls from the victim was answered but, it could have been picked-up and then immediately hung up. Pinkelman said there were messages from the victim just before the incident trying to communicate with Rodriguez-Linares but, Pinkelman was not asked what those messages said.
The last witness for Wednesday was Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab Forensic Scientist Emily Anderson. Anderson testified about DNA evidence she processed from items submitted by Lexington Police Department. She said testing on the handgun was inconclusive but, the magazine contained a mixture of four people including the defendant but, not the victim.
The trial continues today at the Dawson County Courthouse.
