Morgan Hill
– A series of pre-trial motions may again delay the case of a
Morgan Hill couple accused of beating a pregnant woman.
Charles Peralta, 30, and Nicole Agriesti, 22, are charged with
assault causing bodily injury with a special hate crime attachment.
Both are free on $100,000 bail.
Morgan Hill – A series of pre-trial motions may again delay the case of a Morgan Hill couple accused of beating a pregnant woman.
Charles Peralta, 30, and Nicole Agriesti, 22, are charged with assault causing bodily injury with a special hate crime attachment. Both are free on $100,000 bail.
The pair were in court Monday for pre-trial motions. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kenneth L. Shapero heard a motion from attorneys to release mental health records for the victim, Xochitl Marina Calderon, 32. He also heard information from defense attorney Mark Arnold and public defender Javier Rios on the drug Paxil, which Calderon was apparently taking before the alleged attack. Deputy District Attorney Mark Hood told Shapero he believed the drug information would have to be presented during the trial by an expert under oath.
Shapero will have to hear and make rulings on several pre-trial motions before jury selection can begin. Hood said late Monday he could not predict when the actual trial would begin.
“It all depends on how long we argue,” he said.
The incident took place July 21, 2005. Calderon told police she was assaulted by the pair after they ran over a bag of groceries she left in the parking lot of the Cochrane Village Apartments, according to Morgan Hill Police. Calderon said the pair repeatedly hit her and kicked her, even as she told them she was two months pregnant. She also said they called her a “wetback.”
Defense attorneys for the pair say Calderon was the instigator, and Agriesti was trying to defend herself while Peralta was trying to break up the fight.
The couple face charges of assault causing bodily injury with a hate crime enhancement, which could add as many as three years to any prison sentence if Agriesti and Peralta are convicted. The assault charge carries a maximum penalty of four years and a fine up to $10,000.
Arnold and Rios said they wanted the information about the prescription drug Paxil, which is used to treat depression, obsessive compulsive behavior, panic, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, to be a part of the trial because it is relevant to the state of mind of Calderon at the time of the incident.
Arnold and Rios had requested the release of Calderon’s mental health records. References to Paxil were found in her medical records, which she released to Morgan Hill Police investigators.
