FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The trial of a South Florida man accused of killing an attorney and dumping her body in a canal continued Tuesday with testimony from his ex-wife.
Tony Villegas, 52, is charged with murder in the death of Melissa Lewis, a partner in convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's now-defunct law firm.
Villegas was arrested in 2008 after Lewis' body was found in a Plantation canal.
His ex-wife, Debra Coffey, testified that she and Lewis, her best friend, were fearful of Villegas because of threats he made against them.
"I purchased a Taser and Melissa purchased pepper spray," Coffey said.
However, the jury didn't get to hear why.
Jurors were dismissed from the courtroom before her testimony as attorneys for both sides argued what the jury should be allowed to hear.
Broward County Judge Jeffrey Levenson ruled that Coffey could speak about the pepper spray, but she couldn't speculate as to why.
Also off the table were the details of her role in the Ponzi scheme that led to her conviction more than a year after Lewis was killed.
Plantation police Detective Joseph Quaregna was the first witness to testify for the state. He spoke about surveillance video of Lewis shopping at a Publix on West Broward Boulevard in March 2008, one of the last times Lewis was seen alive.
"Her credit card was checked, and there (were) two purchases made in that store on that day," Quaregna said.
Lewis' niece also took the stand, testifying about one of the last conversations she had with her aunt, with whom she said she spoke daily.
"She was calm, just as normal," Sheila Reed said.