Is Ricardo Soto In Jail Now? Whereabouts Ricardo Soto, the father of Ruidoso Downs, was sentenced to life in prison by District Judge Jared Kallunki on December 2.
District Judge Jared Kallunki sentenced a Ruidoso Downs father to life in prison for the death of his toddler son.
Ricardo Soto was charged with willful child abuse resulting in death after the death of his 2-year-old son Jeremiah Nevarez on June 10, 2018.
Soto, a Lincoln County resident, was found guilty of the offense on October 6, 2022, following a three-week trial. In New Mexico, a conviction of this nature carries a mandatory life sentence.
Ricardo Soto Arrest And Charges Explained
Nevarez was being treated at the Children’s Hospital at University Hospital in El Paso, Texas when his death was reported, and Texas protective services were notified over possible child abuse.
Nevarez was taken there from the Lincoln County Medical Center, where he had been admitted after becoming unconscious and unresponsive. At the time, investigators said that the child had a fractured skull.
Ricardo Soto left for Mexico during the investigation but was later apprehended while attempting to re-enter the United States.
The 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. According to New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, “murdering a kid is a heinous crime, and our fair [sic] system must deliver the strongest justice under the law to safeguard children in New Mexico and hopefully start the healing process for a grieving mother and family.”
District attorney Scot Key stated, “It is hard to think of a more horrible act than killing an innocent kid, and I am thankful that justice will be done with this life term.
Is Ricardo Soto In Jail Now? Whereabouts
In a sentencing brief, Soto’s defense team requested that Kallunki change the term so that Soto would be eligible for parole after 20 years rather than the usual 30.
They did this because of Soto’s moral character and lack of criminal history. Soto must serve a minimum of 25 years before becoming eligible for parole, according to Kallunki.
Judi Caruso, the defense attorney for Soto, declared that she would appeal the decision.
According to Caruso of the New Mexico Public Defenders Office, Nevarez’s death was caused by “illness and an accidental fall at daycare.”
According to a neurologist who testified at the trial, the boy may have suffered the injury that led to his death days earlier.
The 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office argued for a sentence in line with New Mexico criminal statutes because Soto had been found guilty of the crime. Home
