Friday, April 15, 2011

Guilty plea in 2009 slaying

AURORA | One of two men charged with murder after a 2009 slaying near Hinkley High School pleaded guilty to being an accessory to a crime last week.

Ruben Junior Rodriguez, 23, entered the plea during a court hearing Friday and prosecutors subsequently dropped other charges against him, including first-degree murder, according to court records.

Rodriguez was set to go on trial later this month, but the trial was cancelled after Friday’s plea.

Rodriguez along with Juan Carlos-Escobar, 19, were charged with murder in connection with the August 2009 slaying of David Ricardo Natividad, 20, near East 12th Avenue and Chambers Road.

According to court records, Carlos-Escobar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and to committing a violent crime in January and received a 20-year prison sentence.

Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in court April 21 for sentencing. It wasn’t clear from court records what sentence he might face.

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