Shooting suspect to cooperate

By Kevin O’Brien

One of the suspects accused of shooting a man in Abbotsford last year has agreed to cooperate with police in exchange for a sentence of probation only.

Carlos Ruben Santiago Gonzalez, 26, was supposed to have been sentenced on June 21 in Clark County Circuit Court, but the hearing was rescheduled until Judge Scott Horne, serving as a substitute, could have a chance to read the transcript of an April 21 plea hearing.

According to that transcript, Santiago Gonzalez is prepared to possibly testify against the other defendant in the case, Joennuel Moctezuma Torres, in exchange for an attempted homicide charge being dismissed and a reckless endangerment charge being amended to second degree, a Class G felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison, a fine of $25,000 or both.

District attorney Melissa Inlow told the judge on April 21 that a statement from the victim indicates that Moctezuma Torres was the “primary actor” in the shooting, which occurred on Feb. 16, 2020, at the Northside Apartments in Ab- botsford.

Santiago Gonzalez turned himself into police about a month after the shooting, and was in jail for over a year before he was released on a $25,000 signature bond following the April 21 plea hearing.

A jury trial on the attempted homicide charge had initially been scheduled in April, but that was called off after the DA and Santiago Gonzalez’s defense attorney, Roberto Ledesma, reached a plea agreement.

If Santiago Gonzalez follows through on his cooperation with police, the DA said she would recommend that he get probation, which would follow 13 months in jail he has already served.

“We believe that this is a fair resolution,” Inlow told the court. “We did communicate with the victim at one point relating to the resolution. It holds Mr. Santiago Gonzalez accountable for his role in the shooting.”

The motive behind the shooting has never been discussed publicly. Shortly after it occurred, the victim told police that the defendants had been harassing him at work, but he didn’t know why.

Santiago Gonzalez was supposed to make a statement to police before the April 21 plea hearing, but according to the hearing transcript, he had not done that yet. His attorney said his client was “apprehensive at first based on the factors involved,” but he was confident that Santiago Gonzalez would, in fact, cooperate. Ledesma said his client has “a strong incentive” to return to court, as he has family ties in the area, including a wife and child. He also noted that Santiago Gonzalez has an opportunity to avoid prison time by cooperating.

The co-defendant, Moctezuma Torres, fled the area after the shooting but was eventually arrested in Puerto Rico by U.S. Marshals in March. He was returned to Wisconsin and has been in the Clark County Jail on a $250,000 bond ever since.

Moctezuma Torres has pled not guilty to charges of attempted homicide and reckless endangerment, and a status conference is slated for July 13 in his case.

Surveillance cameras at the Northside Apartments captured Santiago Gonzalez and Moctezuma Torres leaving the scene of the shooting armed with handguns, according to a 2020 press release from the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department.