Woman charged in January assault to remain in adult court
Dulce Rios to make next appearance in court on Jan. 10
A judge rejected a motion by Dulce Rios’ defense to transfer her from adult criminal court to juvenile court during a hearing on Thursday morning at the San Joaquin County courthouse in Stockton.
Rios, of Lodi, is accused of a violent assault with a bat on Lodi’s Jacqueline Pickett which took place at Beckman Park on Jan. 4 this year.
Rios, who was 17 at the time of the incident but has since turned 18, was arrested the same day and was to be tried as an adult. She is facing potential charges of attempted murder, use of a weapon and second-degree robbery.
Pickett, 23, suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of taking blows to the head but has been working toward recovery over the course of almost a year since the attack.
Since her arrest, Rios has not stood trial yet as the court determined she was not yet competent to do so. It took several months for the courts to place her in a facility to receive treatment. Rios spent some time in Napa State Hospital before she was returned to juvenile hall in San Joaquin County and then transferred to the San Joaquin County Jail, where she is being held today.
However, her case became complicated with the passage of Proposition 57 this November. That changed the procedure for which courts can have jurisdiction over juvenile cases.
As of Nov. 9, all juveniles must first have their cases heard by the juvenile court. From there, judges rather than prosecutors must determine whether minors should be prosecuted as adults, with an emphasis on rehabilitating the juvenile offender.
However, during Thursday’s hearing Judge Brett H. Morgan raised an issue that the language in the law does not account for how a judge must handle legal proceedings that were already in progress such as Rios’ case. It was also unclear to him based on the information provided during the election what the voters’ intent would be for cases in progress, since it was never mentioned.
“I’m not sure if the drafters of Prop. 57 thought about pending cases,” Morgan said.
While the judge mulled over the issue, the family of the victim anxiously awaited the results of the hearing.
Pickett’s mother, Amber Gomes, had teared up upon seeing Rios first enter the court. Gomes said it was difficult seeing her for the first time in person.
After a short recess, Morgan stated that he would not be transferring Rios to juvenile court. He focused on the lack of clarity in the language of Prop. 57 and the context with which it was created.
The only clear intent from voters, he said, was to help rehabilitate juveniles convicted of crimes, which the defense argued was more likely to occur in juvenile court.
“I disagree that adult court is not rehabilitative,” Morgan said, citing a combination of punishment and rehabilitation programs as being more effective.
And since Rios had already begun the process in adult court, it would not make sense to have to start the hearings over from the beginning in juvenile court, he said.
Morgan drew the line at Nov. 9 and found that Prop 57 does not apply to this case.
He told the court that he anticipates that the case will be taken to the 3rd District Court of Appeals and possibly the California Supreme Court. Rios' defense has already asked for a copy of the transcript in preparation for a possible appeal.
Gomes was relieved to hear that Rios would continue on in the adult criminal court after feeling on edge for the several hours in court.
“This is so important not only for my daughter’s case but for cases across California and all the victims,” Gomes said.
Rios will return to court on Jan. 10 for a competency hearing at 9 a.m. at the San Joaquin County Courthouse in Stockton in Department 25.