A Tucson man charged back in July with two counts of second-degree murder after the Porsche SUV he was driving crashed head-on with a car, killing two young women, will be back in a Pima County courtroom Jan. 12 for a status conference.
Marcus Anthony Rodriquez remains out of custody under the supervision of the court’s pretrial services despite opposition from court staff, the prosecutor, and the victims. No trial date has been set.
Rodriguez, who turned 30 last week, is accused of being under the influence early on July 17 when he drove the wrong way on the merging ramp from Interstate 10 to Interstate 19. The impact of the crash killed Ilsi Nayeli Leon, age 19, and Yahaira Z. Portela, age 20.
In addition to the deaths, Rodriguez is charged with reckless endangerment for the risk his driving posed to two other persons.
Rodriquez, suffered a spinal injury during the crash and was unable to take part in his initial court appearance until July 20. His bail at that time was set at $1 million.
Defense attorney Homero Torralba successfully argued to Judge Danelle Liwski for a significant modification of the bail order so that Rodriguez could be released from jail solely under the supervision of pretrial services. One concern was the cost and expertise of medical care Rodriguez required for his injuries.
But the victims and victim representatives were not provided advance notice of the bail modification hearing.
All victims have the right to be notified of any court proceedings as well as the right to make their opinions known to the court about a defendant’s conditions of release. The notification is a duty of the State, which in this case is the office of Pima County Attorney Laura Conover.
On Aug. 30, Liwski denied a request by M. Elizabeth “Liz” Farkas, the bureau chief of Conover’s vehicular crimes unit, to reconsider the change in Rodriguez’s release conditions due to the notification issue and the victims’ opposition. Farkas noted that the court’s own pretrial services staff recommended against releasing Rodriguez without bail.
Liwski’s denial led to a tense mood in her courtroom on Sept. 8 for what would normally be an uneventful case management conference. Instead, more than two dozen friends and family of the various victims were in attendance, along with several of Rodriguez’s relatives and supporters.
The turnout prompted Court Security Manager MaryJane Abril to stand in the middle of the courtroom to keep the groups apart. It also inspired the judge to make a rare comment to the gallery from the bench.
“I recognize this case is highly emotional,” Liwski stated. “But I will require everybody to treat everybody with respect.”
After a perfunctory update from Torralba and Farkas, the judge set the next status conference for Nov. 7. This further angered many the victims’ families who had been previously assured by Liwski that Rodriguez would have to appear in court every month.
Liwski also directed Abril to coordinate the separate departure of both groups from the courtroom and the courthouse under the watchful eye of security staff and Pima County deputies. There was also a similar turnout of the victims’ families at the November and December hearings.
Court records show there has also been concerns raised by the attorneys for the victims about the fact Rodriguez selling assets from Rodriguez Automotive Wholesale Motorsports, a company in which he is a partner. One concern is that Rodriguez could use the funds to flee the jurisdiction of the court.
Torralba has advised the court Rodriguez simply sold some of his assets to help pay for legal services and medical bills. He added that if the victims wished to freeze those assets they could apply to do so via a wrongful death lawsuit they filed against Rodriguez and the company.
In the meantime, Rodriguez is subject to several restrictions as part of his pretrial release, including one which bars him from driving. Another prohibits Rodriguez from leaving Pima County without court approval.
He is also prohibited from consuming alcohol and from having contact with any of the victims or their families. The order for no-contact with the victims applies to Rodriguez’s family as well.
Rodriguez will also face new felony charges if he fails to appear in court for any hearing.