Judge orders ABQ youth held pending trial in killing of Albuquerque Academy student - Albuquerque Journal

Jada Gonzales, then 17, spoke with the Journal last year about working with kids as part of the city’s therapeutic recreation program at a community center. Gonzales was fatally shot during a house party in December. (Roberto E. Rosales / Albuquerque Journal)

A judge on Tuesday ordered 16-year-old Cruz Medina held in custody while awaiting trial in the shooting death of an Albuquerque Academy student at a house party in December.

Medina will be charged as an adult with first-degree murder in connection with the Dec. 18 killing of 18-year-old Jada Gonzales, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.

A talented writer and photographer with family in Zuni Pueblo, Gonzales had recently received a four-year college scholarship at the time she was killed at a house party in the 5200 block of La Bajada NW.

Medina’s attorney, Adam Oakey, agreed to waive the pretrial detention hearing Tuesday on condition that he could file a motion later seeking Medina’s release from custody.

Second Judicial District Judge Clara Moran found “there is clear and convincing evidence that (Medina) presents a danger to the community.”

Moran also ruled “that there are no conditions or combination of conditions of release that the court could set right now to reasonably ensure the safety of the community.”

Medina remained in custody Tuesday at Bernalillo County’s juvenile detention center.

Jessie Parra (MDC)

Medina’s co-defendant, Jessie Parra, 19, has remained in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest Jan. 17.

District Judge Lucy Solimon on Feb. 1 granted a prosecutor’s motion to hold Parra pending trial.

Parra also faces a charge of first-degree murder in Gonzales’ killing, court records show.

Both he and Medina face additional charges of shooting at an occupied building, tampering with evidence, and two counts of conspiracy.

Prosecutors allege Medina and Parra were among several males who were kicked out of the party the night of the killing, according to an arrest warrant filed in Metropolitan Court.

Witnesses told police the group was carrying firearms and posing for pictures with the guns, as well as flashing gang signs, before they were asked to leave the party. They appeared “reluctant, embarrassed and angry” as they left, the affidavit said.

Minutes later, gunshots were fired outside the house, it said. The fatal round traveled through a bedroom and penetrated an interior wall, striking Gonzales in the torso.

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Judge orders ABQ youth held pending trial in killing of Albuquerque Academy student - Albuquerque Journal
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