SANTA CRUZ — County prosecutors are petitioning the court to prevent the release of a man convicted of kidnapping, murdering and sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in 2015.
Adrian Jerry Gonzalez, now 24, was found guilty in 2021 of murdering neighbor Madyson “Maddy” Middleton. After serving his maximum sentence in juvenile detention, Gonzalez is scheduled for release by his 25th birthday in October, per state law.
However, a probable cause hearing, which began Thursday and continued Monday, will require Santa Cruz County Chief Deputy District Attorney Tara George to provide compelling evidence that Gonzalez, who was 15 at the time of his offenses, should not be released this year.
In May, the District Attorney’s Office filed its petition opposing Gonzalez’s release from Sonoma County Juvenile Hall’s Secure Youth Treatment Facility. Gonzalez, who was held at Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall for nearly six years before his conviction, was sentenced in April 2021 to a Department of Juvenile Justice youth prison, up until all such facilities were closed statewide in June 2023. The state juvenile system closures mandated that convicted juvenile offenders be returned to their sentencing counties. However, due to Santa Cruz County’s relatively small affected population and lack of appropriate facilities and programming, officials outsourced the contract to Sonoma County.
Should George’s efforts to petition the court fail, Gonzalez’s release will continue as planned. Should Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy rule that probable cause to delay his release exists, Gonzalez’s case will proceed to a jury trial for a determination. A jury trial’s support that Gonzalez should not be released this year would extend his committment for as many two additional years.
The Santa Cruz County Probation Department, which works with Sonoma County Probation to oversee Gonzalez’s treatment progress, has backed the District Attorney’s Office petition opposing his imminent release. Gonzalez has not completed all components of an intensive restoration program created upon his transfer to Sonoma County, a probation officer testified Thursday.
Kicking off the hearing, George read into the record a statement of facts originally prepared for Gonzalez’s 2017 transfer hearing. The report, consisting partly of Gonzalez’s admissions to police investigators, detailed the circumstances of the July 26, 2015, murder at the Tannery Artist Lofts, where both Maddy and Gonzalez lived with their mothers.
According to the document, Gonzalez offered Maddy ice cream and she accepted, carrying her scooter and helmet to his family’s third-floor apartment. There, Gonzalez grabbed Maddy by her throat, dragged her to his bedroom and reportedly threw her around the room and attempted to duct tape her mouth while she fought and screamed.
“Adrian decided to kill Madyson to prevent her from reporting his behavior to their mothers, who were friends,” George read. “Adrian choked Madyson for about 15 to 30 minutes, until she was blue.”
Thinking Maddy had died, Gonzalez then sexually assaulted the young girl. He later bagged Maddy up and put her in his trash can, when he could then hear her gasping for air, according to the report. He reportedly then reopened the trash back and stabbed Maddy several times in the throat before taking the trash can down to transfer her to the apartment complex’s recycling facility. She remained there until found by police investigators nearly 24 hours after she was reported missing.
Witnesses called alternately to the stand by both the petitioner District Attorney’s Office and counsel for Gonzalez during his initial hearing days included those who have worked with him since his transfer to Sonoma County’s treatment program, including probation case workers, site administrators and mentoring and sexual psychotherapy treatment specialists.
Maddy’s family members appeared at the hearing through remote Zoom video conference and Gonzalez’s mother, family friend and spiritual counseler were regular attendees in the courtroom. A group of young women, who held up a sign outside the courthouse reading “Justice for Maddy,” also sat through some of the hearing’s testimony last week.
Gonzalez’s hearing is scheduled to resume at 10:30 a.m., July 30 and will likely extend to July 31.
Originally Published:
Source: www.mercurynews.com