Quick Take
Convicted in 2021 of the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Madyson Middleton, Adrian Gonzalez returns to a Santa Cruz court this week for a hearing to help determine whether he remains a danger to society or if he can be released from prison later this year. The hearing continues Monday.
Three years after he was convicted of the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton, Adrian Gonzalez returned last week to a Santa Cruz County courtroom, where a judge will help determine if he can be released from prison when he turns 25 later this year.
The hearing, which began Thursday and is slated to resume Monday, could stretch into the first week of August, if not longer.
Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Adrian Jerry Gonzalez, known as “A.J.,” is not ready to be released back into society. It will be up to Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy to determine whether Gonzalez is still a major threat to the community.
On Friday, the courtroom was somber as two witnesses gave testimony about the rehabilitation of Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty in April 2021 to killing Middelton, his neighbor in the tight-knit Tannery Arts Center community.
The gruesome crime rocked the Santa Cruz community nine years ago.
Madyson Middleton was reported missing on July 26, 2015, by her mother from their apartment at the Tannery Arts Center. Over the next 26 hours, the FBI, local police and community members —including Gonzalez — searched for the child. Her body was discovered in a trash can on the Tannery grounds, where Gonzalez was quickly arrested.
Gonzalez — who was 15 at the time of the murder — was tried as a juvenile because of Senate Bill 1391, which prohibited prosecuting teens under the age of 16 as adults, passed in 2016. Had he been tried as an adult and pleaded guilty, Gonzalez would have faced a life sentence.
However, because of SB 1391, Gonzalez was placed in the juvenile corrections department. Under the state’s Welfare and Institutions Code, anyone whose case began in juvenile court remains in a juvenile detention facility until the age of 25, when they will either be released or placed in an adult detention facility.
Gonzalez turns 25 years old later this year, prompting the current hearings.
During his 2021 trial, Middleton’s mother, Laura Jordan played a nearly 4-minute video of Madyson touring around the Tannery Arts Center and told the teenage killer, “You stole my joy, my ability to laugh sincerely, leaving me with utter and complete hopelessness.”
At the time Gonzalez was convicted and sentenced, Middleton’s father, Michel Middleton, told the media he had accepted the loss of his daughter, forgiving Gonzalez because he did not want to hold the poison of hate in his heart. However, he also said he believed Gonzalez should face life in prison without a chance to ever repeat his crimes.
Michael Middleton died suddenly last Nov. 4. He is survived by his mother, Judy MiIddleton, who attended Friday’s hearing via Zoom.
Roughly a dozen people sat in court Friday to hear the testimonies of Daniel Flamson, a division director at the Sonoma County Probation Department, and Melita Combs, Gonzalez’s juvenile corrections counselor in the Sonoma County Probation Department.
Gonzalez was transferred to the Sonoma County Probation Department from Santa Cruz County in June 2023 in a joint program with both counties. The court heard that he was being held at Sonoma County Juvenile Hall, in a secure youth treatment facility with other offenders aged 14 to 24.
As he listened Friday to the testimony of witnesses, Gonzalez remained quiet and attentive, once in a while writing notes to his defense attorneys.
Throughout the hearing, witnesses described interactions with Gonzalez as “pleasant” saying that he’s been actively engaged in his individual rehabilitation plan, a list of goals, such as social skills and anger management.
According to Combs, Gonzalez has responded well to the numerous programs in the probation department such as anger management, along with life skills, social skills and healthy relationships courses, as well as the teen assault prevention group therapy program. She told the court she regularly meets with Gonzalez for an hour twice a month, sometimes four times within the same period, depending on the availability of personnel. Combs noted that Gonzalez volunteered to meet a therapist regularly rather than on a only-when-needed basis.
However, both Combs and Flamson remarked that Gonzalez regularly gets frustrated when his day-to-day routine is altered. Yet both said he not only identifies the frustration but also expresses it in an “appropriate manner.”
Because of the nature of the crimes, the prosecution also referred to Combs’ monthly report notes that stated in May that Gonzalez was “open and transparent” in expressing sexual thoughts he had of new staff members in his facility. After discussing them with him, Combs determined they were “normalized thoughts given his age and gender.”
Monthly reports filed by Combs since Gonzalez’s introduction to the Sonoma County Probation Department all assess him as a “low risk” individual.
Friday’s hearing lasted approximately six hours (with a 90-minute lunch break) but was nowhere near finished by the time Guy adjourned the court for the weekend.
The hearing will resume on Monday at 10 a.m.
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