Nogales International has reported that a man is determined to face a jury over nine attempted murder charges stemming from a domestic violence assault, and could receive up to a 400-year sentence.
M.F.R., 32, turned down “several” opportunities to accept the plea offer presented by his attorney, preferring instead to go to trial.
M.F.R.’s attorney notified Judge James Soto on May 16 that M.F.R. had rejected the plea offer.
M.F.R. is facing 25 offenses in all.
On October 8, 2010, M.F.R. began his rampage by driving in the wrong direction on Interstate 19. He crashed into a vehicle that held seven minors, and seriously injured two of the occupants.
M.F.R.’s girlfriend was in the car with him and was also seriously injured – she had to have one of her legs amputated.
M.F.R. is believed to have purposely caused the accident. The County Attorney’s Office charged him with several counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a dangerous instrument and drunk driving.
The plea offer would have allowed M.F.R. to face 30, instead of 400, years in prison. He was asked to plead guilty to one count of aggravated domestic violence assault with serious physical injury, two counts of aggravated assault with serious physical injury and six counts of endangerment.
County Attorney George Silva said that the plea deal offers no early release.
Judge Soto scheduled the trial to commence on November 1. It is expected to last eight days in the Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
Per Silva, the plea deal has since been withdrawn. They will only renegotiate if
M.F.R. changes his mind about going to trial.
M.F.R.’s ex-girlfriend told investigators that the two were engaged in an argument at a bar before the car crash. Once in the car, with another male passenger, M.F.R. sped and drove erratically.
Kimberly Hunley, the Deputy County Attorney, wrote, “(She) pleaded for the defendant to stop and let her out, but the defendant refused…he then told (the woman) she was going to die. He then asked her if she was prepared to die today because they were all going to die.
He told her that she never loved him and she was the reason his probation was revoked.”
The woman told investigators that when she tried to keep her seatbelt on, M.F.R. leaned over and unlocked it. She said that the car’s speedometer showed they were traveling between 80 to 90 mph before they crashed into the other vehicle that was filled with children.
The press has not released the woman’s name, as she is a possible victim of a domestic violence crime.
Charles Thomas, defense attorney for M.F.R., wrote in a motion, “The defendant cannot disagree that people were injured in the vehicle collision on Oct. 8, 2010. The defendant does disagree that there was any intention on his part to cause a collision.”
M.F.R. is being detained at the county jail. His bail is set at $100,000.
Domestic Violence doesn’t have to end with serious injury. Contact a family law attorney to break the cycle of abuse now.