HOLLISTER
– One of two men accused of killing 73-year-old Ralph Santos in
June 2003 may get a plea bargain and receive a lesser charge with a
maximum 13-year prison sentence in exchange for testimony against
his alleged cohort.
HOLLISTER – One of two men accused of killing 73-year-old Ralph Santos in June 2003 may get a plea bargain and receive a lesser charge with a maximum 13-year prison sentence in exchange for testimony against his alleged cohort.
Under a proposed plea bargain considered by the District Attorney’s Office, Eliseo Rojas would see his murder charge reduced to manslaughter if he testifies against Eusebio Ramos, according to their lawyers.
If local prosecutors and Rojas complete the deal, he would avoid facing charges that carry a possible life sentence – while presumably lowering Ramos’ chances for exoneration from a murder charge that could land him behind bars for life.
Rojas’ lawyer Bud Landreth confirmed the plea bargain is under consideration and expressed optimism for its completion. There’s no set timeline, he said.
“I would say the prospects appear positive,” Landreth said.
Ramos’ lawyer Arlene Allan also confirmed the plea consideration. But she criticized the prosecution because she just learned about the agreement at a case conference Wednesday.
“It’s a little disheartening for me to receive information from the DA’s office this late and expect me to prepare for a trial Sept. 13,” Allan said.
She said the District Attorney’s Office is now focusing on Ramos, saying, “They’ve made some determination that it’s all my client’s fault.”
She said she was surprised by that revelation. Judge Harry Tobias granted her request to move the trial from Sept. 13 to Nov. 1 so she can “investigate new information.”
District Attorney John Sarsfield confirmed in an e-mail to the Free Lance there are “ongoing negotiations” between one of the defendants and the prosecution.
“The negotiations concern a possible plea agreement and offer to cooperate. However, I will only be able to discuss it in detail with you once it is finalized,” Sarsfield wrote.
Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagner is prosecuting the case and declined to comment in a fax response to the Free Lance.
“I must respectfully turn down your repeated invitations to try this case in the press,” Wagner wrote.
Ramos, 30, and Rojas, 20, also face hate crime charges; investigators believe they killed Santos on June 10 after learning of his alternative lifestyle that included soliciting sex from men.
The hate crime charge for Rojas wouldn’t be dropped under the plea bargain, according to lawyers. It’s unclear whether a separate felony charge for stealing Santos’ vehicle would stand under a plea bargain.
Santos went missing June 10 and his body turned up nine day later in a mustard seed field off Buena Vista Road. Ramos and Rojas were then arrested in Stockton after being spotted driving Santos’ 2002 Kia Optima. The Santos family has since moved from the area and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Rojas is ready to accept the plea bargain, Landreth said, because going to trial carries a “risk factor.”
“Sometimes it’s simply not worth running the risk of that type of a sentence,” Landreth said.
Landreth and Allan previously had been trying to have the judge throw out confessions by the two men. They had claimed police in Stockton didn’t properly inform Ramos and Rojas of their Miranda rights, which lay out a suspect’s legal rights when being arrested.
The lawyers are no longer challenging the admissibility of the confessions. But Landreth said he would if there’s no plea bargain.
