State v. Mr. C (DMC No. 18244) – Felony Kidnapping (Dangerous), (2 Counts) Felony Sexual Assault, and Felony Aggravated Assault (Dangerous) – Reduced to Attempt (with 1.5 Years DOC) – Maricopa County Superior Court (Case No. CR2022-001376)
This case involved allegations from 1996. At that time, Mr. C was 31 years old and was attending DeVry Technical School in Phoenix, Arizona. The alleged Victim was an adult who was riding her bicycle in the area of 55th Avenue and Peoria. She had recently moved to the U.S. from Mexico and had very broken English. The allegations were that a male had pulled up in his truck, which had a camper shell, and began a conversation with the Victim. She then was allegedly grabbed, and thrown into the truck, along with her bicycle, and driven to a different location. It was at that time, she alleged that she was struck in the head with a rock several times, and was Sexually Assaulted. Ultimately, she was driven back to the original location, and released with her bicycle.
An investigation had ensued, and various witnesses were interviewed near the location of where she was dropped off, yet no suspects were immediately identified. There was a Sexual Assault Examination, which included the taking of DNA swabs. Although they had a DNA of a perpetrator, there were no matches. Ultimately, another individual was arrested for committing the crime, but his DNA did not match, and he was not prosecuted.
Approximately 25 years later, Mr. C was living in Washington State, and was convicted of a sex crime. His DNA was taken and put into the CODIS database, and subsequently there was a “hit”, in which he matched the suspect for the 1996 crimes. He was arrested and Extradited to Arizona, and it is at that time that DM Cantor became involved in this case. We immediately Filed to Reduce his Release Conditions and have him allowed to live in the state of Washington while he traveled back and forth to Arizona in order to defend his case.
Throughout the Defense of this case, we were focused on challenging the evidence, and also in producing Mitigation should there be a Plea Agreement. As to Mitigation, it was discovered that Mr. C was placed in a group home when he was only 11 years old. He also had a very rough upbringing, and did not have a stable household growing up. When he was 32 years old, he joined the Navy and was Honorably Discharged after 17-1/2 years, and was currently on VA Disability while this case was pending. Lastly, we had a Psychosexual Risk Evaluation conducted, which stated he would be a “low risk to reoffend” given his current status in life. Due to various flaws with the evidence, and combined with the Mitigation we provided, we were able to secure a plea to Attempt and Probation (with 1.5 Years in DOC). If Mr. C had been Convicted of the original Charges, he could have spent the Rest of his Life in Prison.
