The defendant’s bond in an aggravated battery case was dramatically reduced Sept. 11 after his lawyer claimed the alleged victim wants the charges dismissed.
The charges against Jaime Gonzales, 19, of Cordova, stem from a June 11 incident in which he allegedly broke into Amy Sandoval’s Cordova home, choked her, slapped her and caused multiple superficial stab wounds to her torso with a pocketknife, according to court documents.
Gonzales was charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and tampering with evidence, court documents state.
Gonzales turned himself in June 12, telling police he stabbed Gonzales in self-defense after she attacked him. Sandoval’s daughter told 911 dispatchers at the time of the alleged attack that Gonzales was pulling Sandoval’s hair, hitting her, choking her and trying to stab her. Shortly before he fled the scene, 19 minutes after the call was initiated, Sandoval reportedly bit Gonzales, dispatch logs state.
Sandoval, 44, told deputies she had previously dated Gonzales, but was currently dating his 21-year-old brother, Peter Gonzales. Jaime Gonzales told deputies Sandoval used to date his brother but was currently dating him, Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy Freddie Trujillo said at the time.
Public Defender Paul Branch, representing Jaime Gonzales at his first court appearance Sept. 11 at state District Court in Tierra Amarilla, said Sandoval gave him a notarized statement that morning saying she did not have an ongoing problem with Gonzales, and she wanted the charges to be dismissed. Branch said Sandoval told him Jaime Gonzales never broke into her house, but he argued the statement did not represent a recantment of Sandoval’s grand jury testimony and previous statements to police, but rather an attempt to set the record straight after the state misconstrued the evidence.
Branch went so far as to say the inconsistencies between Sandoval’s statement to him that morning and the charges filed against Gonzales provided “a good object lesson in why we can’t take the state’s word for everything,” and suggested the charges were inflated to provide “full employment” for the District Attorney’s office.
“A few weeks ago (Aug. 14) Ms. Sandoval gave sworn testimony to those facts before a grand jury,” Assistant District Attorney Tim Hasson told the court, adding that Sandoval’s injuries were documented in photographs, and Gonzales admitted to causing them.
After discussion between Judge Timothy Garcia and Branch, it was decided Sandoval would not make a statement to the court because of the risk of perjuring herself. Perjury is a fourth-degree felony that carries a minimum two-year prison sentence and a maximum five-year prison sentence. But even without Sandoval making a statement under oath, Branch’s representation of her standpoint on the case influenced Garcia to change Gonzales’ conditions of release from the Rio Arriba County Jail in Tierra Amarilla. Gonzales was allowed to bond out for 5 percent of $25,000, or $1,250, instead of the $25,000 cash-only bond that was set June 12.
Hasson said after the hearing, Sandoval’s statement did not appear to him to recant her grand jury testimony, and that he won’t know how her seeming change of heart will affect the case until he speaks with her directly.
“We have to first remember that the victim is a victim and treat them with respect and try to understand where they’re coming from,” Hasson said. “Victims frequently will recant what they’ve said at the time of the attack for any number of reasons — there may be fear and intimidation going on.”
As part of his conditions of release, Garcia ordered Gonzales to have no contact with Sandoval.