NEWS/UPDATES

[knightgale]

What happened to a "speedy trial"? for this child? What has happened to him over the last 2 years??

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_13787752

Attorney wants Escareno tried as a juvenile
By TIFFANY REVELLE The Daily Journal
Updated: 11/14/2009 12:00:09 AM PST

Marcos Escareno's defense attorney, Katherine Elliott, is hoping she can get the murder charge against him out of adult court.

Escareno is charged with the shooting death of Enoch Cruz of Manchester in 2007. He was 14 at the time of the shooting and is being tried as an adult. The murder charge and a firearm allegation add up to a potential 50 years to life in prison if he is convicted, a sentence Elliott now claims would be cruel and unusual punishment because of Escareno's age, lack of maturity and a question about his mental capacity.

"Knowing what we know now ­ that he has a 77 IQ at the highest, that he suffers from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), that he suffered abuse as a child, that he has a hard time expressing himself and viewing things ­ the DA is abusing its discretion by trying it in adult court," Elliott said.

She filed a motion last week in Mendocino County Superior Court to have the charges dismissed so the District Attorney's Office can re-file the charges in juvenile court. She argued studies show juveniles' brains aren't fully developed.

Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott said that needs to be argued at a legislative level, not in court.

"I understand that young people aren't fully mature, but I have an obligation to follow the law," Lintott said. "I'm concerned with public safety and the responsive actions the criminal justice system should take when a life has been taken."

In her motion, Elliott argues the decision to file charges directly in adult court against Escareno was made within a 48-hour time frame and without a review of whether he was fit to be tried as a juvenile.
"That such an important decision is made with limited information and within 72 hours is unparallel to any other application of law," Elliott writes.

Lintott says she followed state law, an assertion she says is backed by district attorneys and experts she's contacted statewide regarding the case.

Lintott also argues the cases Elliott cites in her argument about juvenile sentencing don't apply in this case, particularly because they don't involve murder.

Elliott claims in her motion that a question remained about Escareno's ability to understand the legal process and participate in his defense after the court declared him competent to stand trial in July.

The prosecution and defense agreed Judge Ronald Brown would decide the issue after a February trial to determine Escareno's competence ended with the jury hung 6-6.

Elliott also claims in her motion that the District Attorney's Office selectively prosecutes non-white defendants. She attached state Department of Justice statistics showing all of Mendocino County's 12 juveniles who had charges filed against them directly in adult court from 2003 to 2007 were Native American and Hispanic.

"I don't believe there is any kind of selective prosecution," Lintott said. "Each case is a tragedy and has to be looked at on its own merits."

Escareno is charged in the 2007 death of 22-year-old Enoch Cruz. Cruz was found shot to death in a blue minivan on Garcia Court in Manchester on Feb. 6, 2007. Cruz had been shot three times, including a fatal shot to the back.

Tiffany Revelle can be reached at udjtr@pacific.net, or at 468-3523.

Copyright © 2009 - Ukiah Daily Journal

[knightgale]

This case has drug along for 3 yrs, he was 14, now he is 17, facing possibly 21 yrs prison time. What happened to the right to a speedy trial?? We all know this child will NOT get any type of "rehabilitative efforts" in regular prison, yet another child destroyed, contribution of the gov't present laws.

http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_14009890

[knightgale]

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100305/ARTICLES/100309671/1350?p=1&tc=pg

Mendocino boy gets 10-year sentence for murder committed at age 14...............Please read full article