Marquez’s preliminary hearing underway in fatal hit-and-run case

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e preliminary hearing for Ruben Marquez, the alleged driver in the fatal hit-and-run outside a Golden bar, is underway. e second day of proceedings is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. March 2 at the Je erson County Courthouse.

Marquez, 29, has been charged with rst-degree murder, vehicular homicide and multiple assault charges for allegedly driving a truck into a crowd of people outside e Rock Rest Lodge on Oct. 9. Adrian Ponce, 26, was killed in the incident, and at least four others were injured, including Rock Rest employees. Marquez, who is facing 17 total charges, is being held at the Je erson County Jail without bond.

He appeared in court Feb. 3 during the rst day of his preliminary hearing. e judge initially hoped to conduct the entire hearing in one day, but had to pause proceedings mid-afternoon because of scheduling con icts. Additionally, based on their schedules, the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys determined the earliest they could continue proceedings would be March 2.

A preliminary hearing, which is formatted like a small-scale trial, determines whether there is su cient evidence for the case to proceed through the judicial system.

During the Feb. 3 proceedings, Judge Lindsay VanGilder issued a sequestration order in the case, requiring any potential witnesses to remove themselves from the pro- ceedings to ensure they don’t see or hear anything that could interfere with their testimony and have them disquali ed as a witness. While this is typical in trial-like settings, VanGilder stressed it based on the number of potential witnesses in the case and the schedule of proceedings.

(Editor’s note: Because of the serious allegations in the case, the number of witnesses and the monthlong pause in the hearing, the Transcript has decided to only give a brief description of Feb. 3’s proceedings. Coverage of the entire preliminarily hearing will be published at its conclusion.)

On Feb. 3, the District Attorney’s O ce called multiple Je co Sheri ’s O ce deputies to testify about their interactions with the witnesses and victims in the case. ey described

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the scene at e Rock Rest Lodge on Oct. 9, eyewitness accounts of the incident, Ponce’s autopsy report and injuries the other victims sustained. e deputies also recounted how Marquez and Ernesto Avila, the codefendant in the case who owns the vehicle in question, were arrested at a tra c stop shortly after the incident.

Avila, 25, has been charged with one felony count of accessory to a crime and had his bond reduced from $100,000 to $50,000 in November. He’s scheduled to enter a plea at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 21.

During Marquez’s preliminary hearing, his defense attorneys crossexamined the prosecution’s witnesses but didn’t have time to call any of their own. eir witnesses’ subpoenas were continued to March 2.