A Tijuana judge denied release for Javier Eduardo, 18, who has been held in preventive detention since December for the death of Don Nico, a 73-year-old taco vendor struck and killed by the defendant’s speeding vehicle. The ruling came during a second bail review hearing, where the judge found no material change in circumstances to justify freeing the accused.
Defense Argued Changed Conditions at Bail Hearing
Javier Eduardo’s public defenders presented evidence of stable housing and employment, arguing that conditions had changed since the first hearing. They asked the court to release him while the criminal case proceeds to trial.
Prosecutors opposed the motion. They told the judge the evidence was essentially the same material submitted at the first review. The judge agreed, citing ongoing risk to the community as grounds for maintaining detention.
The judge also pointed to inconsistencies in the defendant’s own testimony. Javier Eduardo gave conflicting addresses during the proceedings, which the court treated as a credibility issue. That contradiction, combined with the repeated nature of the defense’s evidence, led the judge to deny the request.
December Crash Killed 73 Year Old Don Nico
The case dates to December, when Javier Eduardo allegedly struck Don Nico while driving intoxicated at high speed. Don Nico, known locally by his first name, was working as a street taco vendor at the time of the collision. The crash drew public attention in Tijuana, where informal food vendors are a fixture of daily life and occupy roadsides across the city’s colonias.
The defendant’s public defender criticized what he described as judicial bias toward prosecutors, saying he felt “defrauded” by Mexico’s newer accusatorial criminal justice system. Mexico transitioned from an inquisitorial to an oral, adversarial system nationwide in 2016. That overhaul was meant to increase transparency and protect defendants’ rights, but defense attorneys in Baja California have repeatedly complained that judges still favor the prosecution in pretrial detention decisions.
The investigation phase of the case is set for completion by March 21. A trial date has not yet been announced, according to Punto Norte.