Hearing in shooting case continued
Tuesday’s hearing for the 17-year-old teenager charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly shooting at three Yuma police officers, who were documenting graffiti on a wall in August, was continued in order to give his attorney more time to continue preparing the case.
When asked to provide the court with an update on the status of the case, attorney W.M. Smith said that he is still receiving disclosure in the case and as such his client is not ready to make any decisions about whether to accept a plea agreement that will be offered soon.
In response, a prosecutor from the Yuma County Attorney’s Office, who was present for the hearing, informed the court that the state does intend to make a plea offer in the case, but it will need to be sent to the victims in the case before it can be presented to the defense.
Smith is representing Kane Javier Perez, who has also been charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of possession of a weapon by a prohibited possessor and five counts of assisting a criminal street gang. He remains in custody at the Yuma County jail on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
After hearing from both counsel, Superior Court Judge Stephen Rouff, who is presiding over the case, scheduled Perez’s next hearing, which is to be a final management conference, for 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 13.
According to Yuma police, the shooting happened at approximately 10:26 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 1, in the area of 22nd Street and Madison Avenue, as three officers from the Yuma Police Department’s Special Operations Group were at the location documenting graffiti on a wall and collecting evidence.
While there, two male suspects yelled what is believed to be a gang slogan at the officers from across the street then suddenly started shooting at them, police said.
When officers returned fire, the suspects fled on foot. Both suspects were located and taken into custody. One of the suspects, later identified as Perez, received a single, non-lifethreatening wound. The second suspect was identified as 22-year-old Luis German Juarez.
Also, on Aug. 9, Yuma police named Perez a suspect in connection with the Dec. 28, 2014, fire that destroyed the West Wetlands Park, officially named the Stewart Vincent Wolfe Creative Playground.
Perez, who was 13 at the time. reportedly confessed starting the fire on Aug. 6 when he spoke with detectives following his arrest in the attempted murder case.
On Aug. 13, the Yuma County Attorney’s Office filed a petition with Yuma County Juvenile Court to have Perez’s case transferred to Superior Court, where he can be prosecuted as an adult on charges stemming from that incident.
As a result, a transfer hearing has been set in juvenile court for later this month, at which time prosecutors will present oral arguments on the reasons why they believe the case should be sent to Superior Court.