Defendant in traffic stop case to get new attorney
The man who fled from a traffic stop was supposed to either accept a plea offer Tuesday in Yuma County Superior Court or have a trial date set.
Neither happened, and the hearing was instead continued at the request of attorney Kaitlin Amos of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office.
Amos explained to the court that a new attorney is being assigned to represent Richard Trujillo, who has five cases against him.
Trujillo, who remains in custody at the Yuma County jail, has been charged with two counts each of theft of means of transportation, burglary and failure to appear.
He has also been charged with one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a dangerous drug. All eight charges are felonies.
At a previous hearing in January, Amos stated that the prosecution has offered Trujillo a plea deal that will resolve three of the cases against him and dismiss two others.
Two victims in the cases also addressed the court and shared their frustration about the number of times the hearings have been delayed.
Both stated they had thousands of dollars of property stolen, including their vehicles, and wanted to see Trujillo do time in prison for what he had done.
One added that she is being threatened by someone on Trujillo’s behalf, who is telling her how dangerous he is.
Trujillo’s next hearing was set for 8:30 a.m. on March 21 by Superior Court Judge Darci Weede.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, the initial incident happened at around 2:41 p.m. on April 15, 2022, when deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a white 2005 Cadillac.
Instead of pulling over, Trujillo, who was the driver of the Cadillac, allegedly sped away, hitting several other cars while trying to evade deputies.
Due to the damage sustained in one of the crashes, the Cadillac was rendered inoperable, causing Trujillo and another occupant in the vehicle to flee on foot.
While Trujillo was taken into custody with the help of a bystander, the other occupant, identified as Eric Granville, was able to escape.
Three days later, deputies received an anonymous tip regarding a possible sighting of Granville in a vehicle.
A deputy later located the vehicle at a gas station on Frontage Road and the Interstate 8 overpass in the Foothills.
Granville was found hiding underneath blankets in the back seat of the vehicle. He was arrested and taken into custody. He was sentenced to prison earlier this month.