TAEGEN McKINNEY - 17 Months (2007) - Flora Vista (SW of Aztec) NM

A Flora Vista man who was sentenced to life
in prison after pleading guilty to stomping a toddler to death in 2007
has been granted a new trial by the state Supreme Court.

Twenty-one year old Jose Garcia was charged
with first-degree felony intentional abuse of a child resulting in
death, tampering with evidence and aggravated battery after he allegedly
stomped on 17-month-old Taegen McKinney while he was helping babysit
the toddler.

His guilty plea carried a mandatory life
sentence, which is 30 years in New Mexico. The tampering with evidence
and aggravated battery charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Garcia later claimed the plea was involuntary
and that he did not understand the conditions of the sentence, accusing
his attorney of ineffective assistance.

The District Court and the State Court of
Appeals denied his request to withdraw his plea, but the state Supreme
Court agreed with Garcia on May 13. The court allowed him to withdraw
the plea, granting him a new trial.

FARMINGTON
A district judge denied a request for a 24-hour furlough for the man
accused of stomping and killing 17-month-old Taegen McKinney. Jose
Garcia, 23, is accused of killing McKinney on April 14, 2007, after he
allegedly stomped on the toddler's chest while his girlfriend was
asleep. The couple was babysitting the child when she was killed.
Shoe impressions that matched Garcia's shoes remained on the child's abdomen, according to court records.
He is charged with first-degree felony intentional abuse of a child
resulting in death, negligent child abuse resulting in death, a charge
that was added July 28, 2010, tampering with evidence and aggravated
battery.
The furlough request was made during a motion to compel
hearing Thursday, just two-and-a-half weeks before a second trial is
expected to begin in Gallup.
Garcia pleaded guilty to intentional
abuse of a child in 2007. That charge carries a life sentence, which in
New Mexico means an inmate must serve 30 years in prison before being
eligible for parole.
But in 2010, the state Supreme Court granted
Garcia a new trial on the grounds that his previous attorney did not
adequately instruct Garcia about the charge he was pleading to and the
mandatory life sentence that followed.
Garcia, despite numerous requests to be released pending the outcome of the second trial, has remained incarcerated since 2007.
The motion for a furlough was "to allow Mr. Garcia time since he has been locked up for four
years," Garcia's Albuquerque-based attorney Frederick Jones said. The furlough would allow the defense team to prepare for trial, he said.
The state opposed the furlough arguing that an escape charge, should
Garcia attempt to flee, "pales in comparison to what Mr. Garcia is
facing," senior trial prosecutor Robert Gentile said in court.

District Judge William Birdsall, who was appointed to the case after
District Judge Sandra Price recused herself in 2011, said the only way
he would allow Garcia a furlough is if it were an escorted one which he
said, might entail a handful of Sheriff's deputies.
Birdsall, referring to the numerous continuations, said he "was tickled, however, we will be in Gallup in 2.5 weeks."
The trial is expected to begin Jan. 30 and is set for eight days in Gallup.
http://www.daily-times.com/ci_19750904

What a travesty. That scumbag should not have been granted a new trial. How could he not understand the penalty? What's wrong with our judicial system that they would grant another trial. Sheesh. I hope he gets more than 30 years after the new trial as he certainly deserves it. And they better not let him out on a furlough as I'm she he'll bolt.

Numerous head-to-toe injuries that killed a 17-month-old toddler in
2007 were not accidental but were the result of being beaten and stomped
to death, a pathologist testified Monday in the trial in Gallup of
23-year-old Jose Garcia, The Daily Times of Farmington reported.

Garcia is charged with first-degree intentional child abuse in the
April 14, 2007, incident in which he allegedly killed Taegen McKinney
while he was babysitting with his girlfriend, The Daily Times said.

He faces life in prison.

The toddler died of blunt force trauma to the head, neck, torso, arms and legs, according to court records.

“My opinion is that they were not accidental,” Kurt Nolte, assistant
chief medical investigator, testified on the first day of what is
expected to be a 10-day trial, The Daily Times said.

Although the case originated in San Juan County, the trial was moved
to McKinley County because of extensive publicity in the five-year-old
case, according to the paper.

Garcia had pleaded guilty to the first-degree charge and was
sentenced in 2007, but the state Supreme Court granted a new trial after
an appeal, ruling that Garcia’s attorney did not properly inform his
client about the conditions of the sentence, The Daily Times reported.
http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/04/17/abqnewsseeker/updated-trial-under-way-in-baby-stomping-death.html

UPDATED: Man Guilty in Baby-Stomping Death
By ABQnews Staff on Tue, Apr 24, 2012

8:26am 4/23/12 — Stomping Death of Baby Goes to Jury

GALLUP — Whether the man accused of beating and stomping a 17-month-old baby to death will spend the rest of his life in prison is now in the hands of 12 people.

Six men and six women will determine the fate of Jose Garcia, 23, who is charged with first-degree intentional abuse of a child after a 2007 incident in which he allegedly killed Taegen McKinney while he was baby-sitting with his girlfriend.

Following more than 2½ hours of closing arguments by state prosecutors and Garcia’s defense attorney, the case was handed over to the jury to begin deliberations.

Garcia has maintained for five years that he might have accidentally stepped on Taegen, who was partially covered under clothes from a laundry basket, when he attempted to jump over the baby to leave a bedroom they both were in.

For previous coverage of the death and the trial, click here.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The man who beat and stomped a 17-month-old baby to death and pleaded guilty to the murder in 2007 will spend the rest of his life in prison, The Daily Times reported.

A jury of six men and six women deliberated 8 1/2 hours over two days before finding Jose Garcia, 23, guilty of first-degree intentional child abuse resulting in death, The Daily Times said.

The charges stemmed from an April 14, 2007, incident in which Garcia killed Taegen McKinney while was babysitting with his girlfriend, the paper reported.

Intentional child abuse carries an automatic life sentence, which in New Mexico means that Garcia will not be eligible for parole until he has served 30 years, The Daily Times said.

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/04/24/abqnewsseeker/updated-man-guilty-of-stomping-baby-to-death.html

good. and good riddance hope he gets a taste of that foot stompin in prison