Stabbing suspect’s lawyers seek to move case back to juvenile court
Judge grants motions to move preliminary hearing to October to coincide with reverse transfer hearing
The lawyers representing Nefi Ezequiel Armijo Hernandez, 16, in his first-degree murder case asked Judge Rachel Olguin-Fresquez on Wednesday for a hearing to determine if the case should be returned to juvenile court.
Armijo Hernandez appeared at Wednesday’s proceeding in Eagle County District Court, with his father looking on from the gallery. However, he never spoke as one of his two court-appointed attorneys, Valerie Cole, addressed the judge.
Olguin-Fresquez granted Cole’s motion for a three-day reverse transfer hearing, which asks a judge to determine whether a juvenile’s case should remain in adult court or be transferred back to juvenile court.
Armijo Hernandez is currently being tried as an adult for charges stemming from an altercation at Second Street Park in Gypsum on April 24 that resulted in the death of Jackson Davis, 14, a freshman at Eagle Valley High School.
Along with the first-degree murder charge, Armijo Hernandez faces a charge of second-degree murder, two charges of a violent crime involving death and a charge of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon.
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He faces life in prison if convicted as an adult of the first-degree murder charge.
A large contingent of Davis’ family and friends were also at the proceeding, with many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts with the teen’s likeness on the back.
In asking for the reverse transfer hearing, Cole waived the right for Armijo Hernandez’s preliminary hearing to occur within 35 days of his request. A preliminary hearing allows the accused to contest the charges before a judge before the judicial process proceeds.
With both prosecutors and Armijo Hernandez’s lawyers in agreement, Olguin-Fresquez set a date of Oct. 2 for the preliminary and reverse transfer hearings to take place in tandem, with the proceeding expected to last through Oct. 4.
Olguin-Fresquez also set a status conference on the afternoon of Sept. 18 to ensure the prosecution and defense would be ready for the Oct. 2 hearing.
