DA Prosecutors Reserve Right To Try Teen As Adult

LAS CRUCES, NM – The District Attorney’s Office in Dona Ana County has reserved the right to prosecute the teenager who allegedly beat a woman as an adult.

Edward de la Cruz, 16, faces aggravated battery charges inlast year’sbrutal beating of Maria Rivera. Prosecutors will have 10 days to officially file their request to try de la Cruz as an adult – a motion that will eventually be denied or accepted by the judge presiding over the case.

De la Cruz’s “extremely” violent behavior in the past as well as his alleged involvement in the beating of Rivera has factored into the decision to possibly try him as an adult, prosecutors say. The teenager’s past offenses, a total of 21 over the last five to six years, have all landed him in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center, they add.

While in detention, de la Cruz has had violent outbursts and has also vandalized county property, say persecutors.

Thursday, defense attorneys asked de la Cruz’s competency be evaluated based on his juvenile offenses before the decision is made. “Based on his past and some drug abuse, Mr. de la Cruz may have suffered from organic brain damage or organic brain impairment,” says Defense Attorney Stephen Sage.

Dona Ana County Prosecutor Jeanne Quintero counters that de la Cruz has been in the system for quite some time and his competency has never been an issue. “His substance abuse has always been there and his oppositional, defiant behavior has always been there,” she adds.

If de la Cruz is tried and convicted as an adult, he will face up to 18 years in prison for aggravated battery and robbery charges. Prosecutors tell ABC-7 the option to seek an attempted murder charge is still open.

The decision on whether the media will be able to show de la Cruz’s face while he is in court will depend on whether or not he is tried as an adult.

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Reported by Doug Wernet

Written for the web by Joe Villasana