BRIGHTON | The family of a 3-month-old boy who police say was killed by his father in September pleaded with a judge Tuesday not to lower the father’s bond.
Aiden Holguin’s mother and grandfather said in court Tuesday that they want the boy’s father, Martin Holguin, 22, to stay behind bars before his trial.
Javier Alvarado, the infant’s grandfather, said lowering Holguin’s bond from $100,000 and paving the way for his release would be akin to treating the baby’s slaying as “no big thing.”
“It’s like saying the death of a child is not important. It is important,” he said.
Martin Holguin is charged with child abuse resulting in death in connection with Aiden’s slaying. Police say Holguin told detectives he was frustrated with his life and head butted the boy in his head, fracturing his skull, resulting in his death a few days later.
Public defender Christian Earle, Holguin’s lawyer, asked Adams County Judge Dianna Roybal to lower Holguin’s bond from $100,000 down to $10,000. He said Holguin didn’t have a criminal record, didn’t pose a threat to the community, and had a job lined up as a janitor if he is released.
But Roybal rejected those arguments and said the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence makes Holguin a flight risk. She said the bond will remain at $100,000.
Holguin was initially scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing on whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial, but at the request of both the prosecution and the defense Roybal delayed that hearing until January.
But the two sides argued for about 30 minutes over whether Holguin should be released pending trial.
Earle argued that the sentence Holguin faces could be as little as probation because of questions surrounding his client’s “culpable mental state” at the time of the crime.
And, Earle said, Holguin would stay away from his common-law wife and their other son while free on bond.
But prosecutors and Holguin’s wife said he should stay behind bars.
Holguin’s wife, Tailem Reyes, choked back tears as she asked the judge not to lower the bond. She said Holguin had a short temper and had a history of fighting with his family.
Alvarado said Holguin could never hold down a job and was unemployed at the time of the crime. And, he said, Holguin had a reputation for being dishonest and “shady.”
Deputy District Attorney Allyson Hayes said the seriousness of the charges was reason enough to keep Holguin locked up.
“It was his own hands that caused the death of his own child,” she said.
Holguin, who has been in jail since his arrest in September, was silent throughout the hearing, only shaking his head “no” occasionally while Alvarado testified.