A jury convicted an El Cajon woman July 9 of felony child abuse in the death of her 4-month-old son left overnight in a hot car, but the same jury acquitted her husband.
After deliberating about two days, the jury also found Jessica Quezada, 24, guilty of possession of methamphetamine in a pipe in her purse and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her husband, Israel “Izzy” Soto, 32, was acquitted in the July 27, 2013 death of Giovanni Soto.
A jury convicted an El Cajon woman July 9 of felony child abuse in the death of her 4-month-old son left overnight in a hot car, but the same jury acquitted her husband.
After deliberating about two days, the jury also found Jessica Quezada, 24, guilty of possession of methamphetamine in a pipe in her purse and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her husband, Israel “Izzy” Soto, 32, was acquitted in the July 27, 2013 death of Giovanni Soto.
Quezada faces a maximum term of 12 years and eight months in prison and a sentencing set on July 20. She is already serving a 27-month federal prison term for her guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Soto is also charged in federal court with the same charges and awaiting trial.
Quezada testified in her own defense, often crying as she described the circumstances of her son’s death, while Soto did not testify. Soto’s attorney told jurors it was an accident and challenged them to find “perfect parents.”
The prosecutor presented surveillance footage of the couple and three other children shopping inside a Walmart store on July 26. When they came home to their apartment in the 500 block of N. Mollison in El Cajon, the baby was left inside the car for 14 hours until the boy’s uncle discovered him the next day at 1 p.m.
Car temperature was estimated more than 100-degrees and he was not breathing. The uncle called paramedics, and Giovanni was transferred to a hospital where he died.
A relative now has custody of the other three children. The trial began July 1. The split verdict may have been influenced because Quezada had possession of meth and paraphernalia while her husband was not charged.
Lemon Grove hit and run to face sentencing
Guillermo Soler-Alvarado, 46, will be sentenced July 23 after pleading guilty to hit and run that resulted in the death of Claudia Ramirez, 29, a pedestrian who was killed March 7 in Lemon Grove.
Ramirez was struck at 7:42 p.m. in the 2400 block of Massachusetts Ave. not far from where she lived. Soler-Alvarado returned to the area around 9:05 p.m. and was arrested by sheriff’s deputies for hit and run.
A prosecutor said Soler-Alvarado faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but is more likely to receive 90 days under some type of surveillance program in El Cajon Superior Court. Soler-Alvarado remains free on bond.
Lakeside man released from federal prison
William Richard Durant III, 37, of Lakeside, was released from federal prison July 6 after a judge sentenced him to 1.5 years which is credit for time served for starting a fire on the roof of the FBI building.
The 6-hour incident at the FBI regional HQs in Sorrento Valley took place March 9, 2014 when he scaled a fence to the property, damaged a security camera, and lit a fire in the air-conditioning unit on the roof. He pleaded guilty to destruction of government property.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan placed Durant on three years probation. His case was delayed because he was found mentally incompetent for trial initially, but he was determined mentally fit in March.
