1 year ago
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HANFORD, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - In the Kings County Superior Court Wednesday, 23-year-old Jonathan Maldonado-Cruz pleaded not blameworthy to charges related to accusations helium changeable and killed his ex-girlfriend, 22-year-old Madeline Rose Cuevas successful Hanford. Authorities accidental aft the shooting, helium took their 2 young daughters, ages 2 and three, each the mode to Mexico earlier helium turned himself in.
The charges outlined successful the courtroom see murder, execution portion lying successful wait, and usage of a firearm with enhancements for intentional discharge of a firearm and idiosyncratic usage of a firearm.
Legal Analyst David Mugridge says lying successful hold adds different level of seriousness to the accusations.
"In this peculiar lawsuit the further information was apparently, the underlying information that this young antheral was waiting for his woman to amusement up somewhere, knew wherever she was going to beryllium and what they were going to do, and helium intentionally took vantage of that to termination her," said Mugridge, a long-time transgression defence attorney.
Mugridge says if Maldonado-Cruz is recovered blameworthy of execution portion lying successful wait, helium could adjacent beryllium sent to decease row.
"That raises the transgression from a elemental execution case, if determination is specified a thing, to a peculiar condition execution case, which carries with it 1 of 2 possibilities: beingness without the anticipation of parole oregon the decease penalty," helium said.
On Wednesday, and aft immoderate discussion, the justice besides issued a extortion bid for the erstwhile couple's young children.
"It's conscionable a cautious justice trying to instrumentality attraction of the small kids themselves and marque definite that successful the midst of everything else, nary harm comes to these children."
As portion of the order, Maldonado-Cruz volition not beryllium allowed to interaction the children, find them, oregon travel wrong 100 yards of them, their homes, oregon their schools.
Moving forward, Mugridge says prosecutors volition person to comb done evidence, interviews, and accusation from Hanford to Mexico. Maldonado-Cruz's intelligence authorities meanwhile, could beryllium cardinal successful the strategy of the defense.
"They'll astir apt privation to speech to the defendant's mother," said Mugridge. "All of his teachers, employers, radical that cognize him well. You're ever going to spell backmost and look astatine what that intelligence authorities was due to the fact that if I tin onslaught that intelligence state, I tin possibly get escaped of the decease punishment if thing else."
Maldonado-Cruz volition beryllium backmost successful tribunal for his adjacent quality connected May 2.
