A Tucson man who led law enforcement officers in Cochise County on a 30-mile pursuit which topped out at 136 mph during a suspected human trafficking incident this summer will appear in a Pima County courtroom Tuesday to learn when he will stand trial on a felony weapons misconduct charge from earlier this year.
Hector Manuel Zumano, 33, was indicted by a Pima County grand jury in April stemming from his status as a convicted felon who had not obtained reinstatement of his civil rights to possess or use a firearm. He walked out of the Pima County jail in June after securing his pretrial release on the weapons charge by posting a $7,500 bond
But two months later, Zumano was booked into the Cochise County jail after being arrested Aug. 8 for fleeing from a DPS trooper who tried to perform a traffic stop of Zumano’s Acura south of Sierra Vista. That arrest led to a three-count felony indictment and a $20,000 bond order out of Cochise County.
It then took several weeks for the prosecutors and defense attorneys in both counties to decide the Pima County case will go to trial first. A date for that trial could be announced during Zumano’s Nov. 9 hearing in Pima County.
Zumano, however, has not been happy sitting in the Cochise County jail the last few months.
His court-appointed legal defender recently asked Judge Laura Cardinal to release Zumano from jail to await trial on his own recognizance or in third-party custody of his girlfriend. In the alternative, the defense attorney asked Cardinal to reduce Zumano’s $20,000 bond.
Raymond Haight of the Cochise County Attorney’s Office objected to any change in Zumano’s release conditions. He noted the seriousness of the Pima County firearms charge and the fact dozens of fellow drivers as well as a passenger in the Acura were endangered by Zumano’s driving. That passenger is believed to have been an undocumented immigrant.
Court records show Zumano failed to pullover on State Route 92 for a DPS trooper shortly after 11 p.m. on Aug. 8. The trooper was driving a fully marked patrol unit, but Zumano’s vehicle continued through Sierra Vista before merging onto State Route 90 near Fort Huachuca.
Radar reported the Acura hitting 126 mph in a 65 mph zone on an unlit stretch of highway. Zumano continued speeding, passing through Huachuca City in excess of 90 mph in a 45 mph zone. Once away from residential areas, a DPS trooper activated lights and sirens, but Zumano sped up, topping off at 136 mph, according to DPS.
Wheel spikes were successfully deployed across SR90 near Kartchner Caverns State Park, although it took nearly six miles for Zumano’s damaged vehicle to come to a stop. Both occupants fled on foot into the desert; Zumano was taken into custody moments later, but the passenger was not located.
In his successful arguments against Zumano’s modification request, Haight told Cardinal of the seriousness of the pending charges in both counties, and that Zumano has a prior conviction for Class 2 Felony of domestic violence kidnapping. The prosecutor also told the judge that Zumano’s actions could have very easily injured or even killed someone.
Five weeks later, Haight would learn that a Cochise County woman was instantly killed on the same highway by a Mesa teen who ran a red light at high speed while engaged in human trafficking.
Felix Mendez, 16, is sitting in the Cochise County jail charged with murder after the car he was driving illegally entered a busy intersection where it struck the driver’s side of a vehicle operated by Wanda Sitoski of Benson.
Sitoski was driving to meet her son to celebrate her 65th birthday. She died at the scene after her car was sheared in two by the force of the impact.
Mendez had two male Mexican nationals in his vehicle at the time of the crash, one of whom was under age 15. Two female Mexican nationals bailed out of the car about 10 minutes before the crash due to Mendez’s dangerous driving, which involved speeds of 100 mph.
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