Trial date set for one of two men charged in fatal shooting

A trial date was set Tuesday in Yuma County Superior Court for one of the 22-year-old twin brothers charged in connection to the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy and the wounding of an 18-year-old man.

Attorney Ray Hanna, the head of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office, said he was prepared to go to trial and that his client has turned down a plea offer.

Hanna represents Adrian Perez-Arzola, who has been charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and four counts of aggravated assault.

When given the opportunity to address the court, Perez-Arzola requested that he be assigned a new attorney, saying Hanna has not done some of the things Perez-Arzola asked him to do.

Superior Court Judge Brandon Kinsey denied Perez-Arzola’s request, saying that the reason Perez-Arzola gave was not a valid one.

Kinsey explained to Perez-Arzola that he has the right to hire his own attorney if he so chooses to do so, but he does not get to pick the attorney the court appoints to represent him.

He added that Hanna is responsible for determining what is required in the case and the court knows him to be a highly competent attorney.

Perez-Arzola’s trial is set to begin on April 19, 2023, with a final pretrial conference scheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 14, 2023.

A prosecutor from the Yuma County Attorney’s Office also spoke at the hearing and requested that a Donald hearing be held at Perez-Arzola’s next court appearance.

He explained that the plea offer Perez-Arzola turned down was for second-degree murder, and he wanted to make sure Perez-Arzola was aware of the consequences of his decision to reject it.

On May 4, shortly after 10 p.m., Yuma police responded to the 1500 block of East 26th Place in reference to a report of shots fired.

When officers arrived on scene, they found a 15-yearold male juvenile and an 18-year-old man who had both been shot.

The shooting took place in the front yard of a residence.

Arriving officers performed CPR on the 15-yearold until paramedics from the Yuma Fire Department arrived and took over. He was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 10:32 p.m.

The 18-year-old man was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.