A Douglas woman who claims she learned through a news article last month that she was on trial for embezzlement has not provided sufficient reason for why she is entitled to a new trial, a Cochise County judge ruled Thursday.
Ivonne Machado Arellano was convicted in absentia by a jury which found her guilty of 12 felonies following a two-day trial that started Nov. 30. Sentencing cannot be conducted until Arellano, 45, is in custody, which is why Judge Timothy Dickerson issued a no-bond arrest warrant after the verdicts were returned.
Arellano was indicted in 2019 for money laundering, theft, and forgery related to more than 80 checks cashed against accounts belonging to GRASP Heating and Cooling. She was arraigned in January 2020.at which time Arellano was instructed by a judge to maintain contact with her court-appointed attorney.
Court records also show Arellano was informed a trial could be conducted without her being present.
On the second day of trial, defense attorney Jessica Zachary notified Dickerson that Arellano made contact after reading a Nov. 29 news story about her case. The article had named Zachary as Arellano’s attorney of record.
Dickerson refused to stop the trial, and Arellano was convicted of all charges after less than one hour of jury deliberations. Jurors were not told why Arellano was absent nor that she never previously spoke with Zachary, who had been appointed to the case in December 2020.
Zachary filed a renewed motion for a new trial, which Dickerson considered during the Dec. 23 hearing. It was revealed during the hearing that Zachary never personally attempted to contact Arellano in the last year. Instead, that duty was left to Zachary’s assistant, although Zachary could describe those efforts to the judge.
Dickerson ruled against the motion for a new trial, noting the defense failed to provide any statement from Arellano’s former attorney to support some of the defendant’s claims. The judge also pointed to the fact Arellano failed to turn herself in on the warrant, even though advised to do so during the mid-trial discussion with Zachary.
Arellano was also absent from the motion hearing where she could have testified about why she did not participate in her case the last 11 months, Dickerson noted.
READ ABOUT ARELLANO’S CHARGES HERE
Court records show Arellano was facing more than 30 years in prison if convicted of all counts, but the Cochise County Attorney’s Office agreed prior to trial that Dickerson would impose a term of less than 30 years. The agreement allowed the trial to go ahead with eight rather than 12 jurors, a strategy which reduced the chance of a mistrial due to a hung jury.
Under Arizona law, Arellano could forfeit her right to appeal if her continued absence from court causes sentencing to be delayed more than 90 days from the date of conviction.
