Judge sends question of Adrian Gonzalez’s release to a jury trial

The potential release of Adrian Gonzalez will be decided in a jury trial, a victory for prosecutors who objected to his release this fall, nine years after he raped and murdered his 8-year-old neighbor, Madyson “Maddy” Middleton, in Santa Cruz’s Tannery Arts Center.

Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Denine Guy ruled Tuesday that prosecutors had shown probable cause for a trial – within 30 days – to decide whether Gonzalez should be held beyond his 25th birthday in October, when he will age out of California’s juvenile justice system. Gonzalez was 15 at the time of the murder. The case became a prominent challenge to a state law, new at the time, that prohibited prosecutors from charging children under the age of 16 as adults.

The ruling comes after four days of testimony and questioning that spanned nearly three weeks. In those court dates, witnesses spoke of Gonzalez’s treatment and mental health assessments to paint a picture of his progress.

Now, Gonzalez’s fate lies in the hands of a 12-person jury, which will hear testimony similar to what Guy heard the past few weeks and arguments from Santa Cruz County Chief Deputy District Attorney Tara George, who is prosecuting the case. Whichever way the jury rules, its decision must be unanimous. If just one juror dissents, the case would require a retrial.

If the jury also rules against Gonzalez’s release, he would be held for up to another two years. After that period, he could very well find himself in this exact same position once again, if the district attorney’s office petitions against his release like it did in May.

In ruling that there was probable cause to block Gonzalez’s release pending a trial, Guy said she purposefully declined to explain her rationale for that decision in order to give the prospective jurors an “independent decision-making process.”

Following the ruling, Gonzalez’s mother, who was in attendance, declined to comment on the court’s decision, as did prosecutor George.

Santa Cruz County Chief Deputy Public Defender Athena Reis, who is representing Gonzalez, said that the trial will see a very similar process to that of the probable cause hearing, but that the matter will be held to a “higher evidentiary standard.”

Reis anticipates the jury selection process to begin on Monday, Aug. 19.

Outside the courthouse, a childhood friend of Middleton’s, who declined to give her name, sat on the steps with signs in support of Middleton’s family. She said that she still lives in the Tannery, where she initially befriended Middleton. Gonzalez used to babysit her. While she only experienced Gonzalez being nice to kids living at the Tannery and never thought he would commit such a violent crime, she said she would worry for her safety if Gonzalez was released.

“He can do what he wants as long as he stays in prison. If he wants to get a communications degree, then he can do that behind bars,” said the now-17-year-old. “But it is a threat to everyone if he’s released, that would just be so dangerous.”

She described following the process as “exhausting” for everyone, including herself, but feels especially bad for Middleton’s mother: “She’s been to every hearing and has had to hear this terrible stuff over and over again, and she can just never have peace. None of us can.”

The 17-year-old hopes to testify at Gonzalez’s trial, if she is able to.

She added that she is unhappy with Senate Bill 1391, which required that Gonzalez be tried as a juvenile, and feels the justice system is “too black and white.” But she is hopeful that a jury will agree with Guy: “I do have more faith that it is going to trial, because I think a jury will have some common sense.”

Prosecutors first wanted to try Gonzalez as an adult, until a California state law — Senate Bill 1391 — passed in 2016, prohibiting the prosecution of people under the age of 16 as adults. Although the bill faced numerous challenges over the following years, stalling Gonzalez’s case, the California Supreme Court ultimately upheld SB 1391 in early 2021, officially enacting the legislation, which finally allowed Gonzalez’s case to move forward.

Gonzalez was convicted later in 2021 as a juvenile, even though he was in his 20s, since he committed the crime when he was 15. He was due for release before he turns 25 in October, due to aging out of the juvenile justice system, but the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office challenged his release, which cued the recent probable-cause hearing.

Kim Salisbury, a retired Santa Cruz County worker, was at the courthouse in support of Middleton as well on Tuesday morning when the ruling was announced. She recalls briefly interacting with Gonzalez and his mother while they were all participating in a trash cleanup around the Tannery. She said his mother was very nice and brought food for the participants. Gonzalez, she said, was reserved, but did not seem suspicious in any way. Still, knowing the details of the crime is enough for her to oppose his release.

“It was a heinous crime, and they may be talking about how he’s been appropriate with women, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be appropriate in the public or with children,” she said. “As a parent and grandparent, I wouldn’t feel safe with him getting out.”

Salisbury said that as a former social worker, she has her doubts about full rehabilitation: “I don’t think this is something you rehabilitate. If it was some accident or something, maybe, but the violent acts committed were not, in my opinion.”

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