A childhood friend of Madyson “Maddy” Middleton and her team of supporters sit Tuesday outside the Santa Cruz County Superior Courthouse after a hearing involving confessed killer Adrian Gonzalez. (Jessica A. York — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
SANTA CRUZ — There is probable cause that, if imminently released from juvenile detention, 24-year-old confessed killer Adrian Gonzalez would be a danger to society, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Just over nine years ago, Gonzalez, then a 15-year-old living with his mother at the Tannery Artist Lofts, lured 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton back to his empty apartment where he choked, raped and fatally stabbed his young neighbor. In 2021, under then-new state juvenile justice reform Senate Bill 92, Gonzalez was ordered back to the juvenile legal process, rather than continuing to be tried as an adult. He immediately pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced to become a ward of the state juvenile detention system through the maximum age of 25.
Gonzalez was set for release until the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office launched a probable cause hearing in May challenging his fitness for release ahead of his birthday in late October.
On Tuesday, Judge Denine Guy said that there was probable cause to believe Gonzalez would be physically dangerous to the public due to his mental or physical condition, disorder or other problem causing a person serious difficulty in controlling his dangerous behavior. She then ordered a jury trial for Gonzalez to begin within, at most, 30 days of her ruling.
Atypical juvenile court procedure
“This is unique because we have not, in the laws, had provision for any jury trial right in any juvenile matter,” Guys said. “He is under the juvenile court jurisdiction, so this is something unique.”
This week’s ruling came in the wake of a four-day probability hearing before Guy that concluded last week.
A jury will consider the same question before Guy — whether they believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Gonzalez would be a danger to society if released. Guy said Tuesday that she purposefully would not summarize the details of Gonzalez’s original case, due to the close proximity of his planned trial and her concern about prejudicing potential jurors.
Gonzalez attended the day’s hearing through online video conferencing from his juvenile detention facility in Sonoma County. Also appearing by video conference were Maddy’s family members. In the courtroom, Gonzalez’s mother, Reje “Reggie” Dimailig Factor, and friends, as well as numerous interested community members, were present. Factor, as well as attorneys representing Gonzalez and the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office, declined to comment on Tuesday’s ruling.
‘Not a black-and-white situation’
Outside the courthouse, a 17-year-old young woman sat on the steps with friends after the hearing. The teen described herself as “best friends” with Maddy at the time of her death and declined to provide her name, she said, because she feared for her safety should Gonzalez be released. Gonzalez, she said, would babysit her and Maddy.
“He was very nice to us and we loved him, all the kids that lived there,” the teen said. “He was always showing his yo-yo tricks and super friendly. He was a camp counselor, always putting himself in positions with children present.”
The teenager said she had trouble believing Gonzalez had been sufficiently rehabilitated in the past nine years, noting that his rehabilitation programs had focused on his sexual offense but not the violence, kidnapping and murder aspects of his case. She said it was a relief that the case will go to trial because she expected jurors to have “common sense” and not approve his release.
“I’m unhappy with this law (2021’s Senate Bill 92) and I think people didn’t realize what it really meant when they passed the law that said no minor could be tried as an adult,” the teen said. “The justice system is too black and white and this is really not a black-and-white situation.”
Gonzalez’s trial date, with preliminary matters such as juror selection, is set to begin at 9 a.m., Aug. 19. Should jurors find that Gonzalez would be a danger to the public if released, Gonzalez could be mandated to another two years of juvenile detention.
Originally published at Jessica York