PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Suspended Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Felipe Vazquez testified for more than two hours during a pretrial hearing on Tuesday before Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears.
According to the Tribune Reivew, Vazquez, who is accused of sex crimes involving an underage girl, denied police claims that he confessed to having met his accuser outside of her Scottdale home and to having sex with her in his car, testifying that he has “never been to Scottdale.”
Vazquez also testified that he thought he would be shot if he didn’t cooperate with the investigation.
The Trib reports that Vazquez said that his upbringing in Venezuela made him fearful of law enforcement after his cousin was shot in the back by police officers.
“People are scared of police. You have to do whatever they say, or they will put you in jail or shoot you,” Vazquez said of his experiences with the police in Venezuela.
Tuesday’s pretrial hearing was a continuation from a July hearing where the 28-year-old challenged his interrogation by police, stating that when he went to call the Pirates or a lawyer, police would not allow him. He also stated that he was led to believe that he was under arrest.
Trooper Michael Thompson testified that police were invited into Vazquez’s apartment on the day in question by Felipe, and was never told that he was under arrest. Thompson did state that Vazquez was not told he could ask for a lawyer.
Thompson said that, while Florida police were ready to take him into custody, there were no plans to arrest Vazquez that day in Pennsylvania because they “were still in the evidence collection” phase.