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August Court approves separate trials for Avila, codefendant Marquez

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Ernesto Avila, 25, is scheduled for trial in last fall’s hit-and-run outside a Golden bar.

Avila pleaded not guilty to a felony accessory charge last month, and he’s scheduled for a nine-day trial from Aug. 22-Sept. 1.

He appeared in court on bond during his March 6 pretrial conference, where the judge granted his defense attorney’s request to sever his case from his codefendant, 30-year-old Ruben Marquez.

In general, severing cases means asking for separate trials. A judge decides whether severance is necessary to achieve a fair determination of guilt or innocence for each defendant.

Avila and Marquez were arrested Oct. 9 after Marquez reportedly drove Avila’s truck into a crowd of people outside e Rock Rest

SEE HIT-AND-RUN, P3 of each event in a timely fashion.

Among those competing in the morning’s slack was Taylor ompson from Merino, Colorado. ompson heard about the rodeo from his team-roping partner, and he appreciated a wintertime rodeo. He said it gives rodeo competitors something to do, and he’d be willing to compete again if the organizers made it an annual thing.

Cadence Hale, a high school junior from Kersey, Colorado, has been riding in rodeos for eight years, and does about 50 a year. About half are through a high school circuit through an after-school club, and the other half are with her family.

She’s done several events over the years, but she was competing in barrel racing and breakaway roping at Je co, with the latter event being her favorite.

Considering her summers are packed with rodeos, she also appreciated the winter event as a nice change of pace. She said it’s a great way to gain experience before the season kicks o next month.

Aurora’s Kevin Martin, whose son competed at Je co, also described it as a great learning experience. He noted how the competitors ranged from high school students to seasoned riders, saying the event was open to everyone, which not all rodeos are.