Source:
Columbia DispatchMurder charge dropped when witness deported
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 08:13 PM
By John Futty
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Franklin County prosecutors have dropped an aggravated murder charge against an East Side man because the key witness against him was deported to Mexico.
The Office of Homeland Security deported the witness without notifying the prosecutor's office, Prosecutor Ron O'Brien wrote in asking a Common Pleas Court judge to dismiss the case.
Jaime C. Gallegos, 20, of Stelzer Road, was released from the Franklin County jail Monday night after charges for aggravated murder and tampering with evidence were dropped. He was one of two defendants indicted in the Christmas Eve shooting death of Miguel Martinez-Vargas, 22, whose bullet-riddled body was found in a car outside the El Gato Negro bar, 1024 Shady Lane Rd.
The case against the other defendant, Juan Mercado-Villanueva, 20, of Raphael Drive was not affected by the deportation, O'Brien said today. A different witness is available in that case. But prosecutors couldn't prove their case against Gallegos without the testimony of Daniel Mercado, who was deported April 13, he said.
Read more:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/07/20/Murder-charge-dropped-when-witness-deported.html?sid=101