Man convicted of 2nd-degree murder

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Mar 26, 2004 by BILL HETHCOCK THE GAZETTE

A man accused of killing a Colorado Springs girl almost four years ago was found guilty of second-degree murder Thursday but escaped conviction on charges that would have imprisoned him for life.

Anthony Jimenez, 26, faces 16 to 48 years on the second-degree murder conviction and four to 12 years for being an accessory to crime. He will be sentenced May 21.

Jurors acquitted him of premeditated first-degree murder and deadlocked on charges of felony murder, kidnapping, rape and conspiracy to commit murder.

This was his second trial on the charges. The first ended in a mistrial because of juror misconduct.

Prosecutors say Jimenez and Michael Easton, 24, abducted 16- yearold Jennifer Baker in August 2000 as she walked home from a drugstore in central Colorado Springs. They took her to a remote Teller County campsite where they raped her repeatedly and drowned her in a creek, prosecutors said. Her nude body was found stuffed in a sleeping bag two weeks after she disappeared.

Deputy District Attorney Dave Young, who prosecuted the case, said Jimenez can be retried on any of the charges on which the jury hung, including felony murder. That crime, like premeditated first-degree murder, carries an automatic sentence of life without parole.

Young said he'll consult with Baker's family and see how long Jimenez gets in prison before deciding whether to try him again.

Defense lawyer Ann Kaufman said Jimenez can't be retried for felony murder -- a type of firstdegree murder -- because the jury acquitted him of premeditated first-degree murder. Lawyers will argue that issue April 12.

Jurors deliberated for 12 days -- one of the longest periods attorneys for either side remembered.

Baker's mother, Kathy Hicks, said the wait was gutwrenching. The verdict left her not knowing how to feel.

"There was just a little bit of justice in there today," she said after leaving court. "I have mixed emotions. I'm happy and sad."

Young had mixed emotions, too.

"I'm not thrilled by the verdict, but then again I'm not devastated by it," he said. "It's obvious that it was a compromise verdict by the jury."

Kaufman said that she remains convinced Jimenez is innocent and that she plans to appeal.

Kaufman and co-counsel Rick Levinson argued that Baker was not kidnapped but went willingly to the mountains. Easton and another man raped and killed Baker while Jimenez was passed out in a tent from drinking liquor, the defense said.

"We've come a long way," Kaufman said. "We've beaten the death penalty. We've beaten first-degree murder. Today was another step in the right direction."

Prosecutors sought the death penalty in Jimenez's first trial, which ended in a mistrial in June. In December, prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty again, partly because they thought jurors had difficulty convicting Jimenez in the first trial knowing they then would have to decide whether he should be executed.

The jury had plenty to worry about without the death penalty on the table, juror Joe Cannela of Woodland Park said.

Jurors were split 10-2 in favor of conviction on most of the charges they left unsettled, he said.

Several jurors favored a first-degree murder conviction but settled on second-degree because jurors who favored the lesser charge weren't budging, he said.

"We probably could have been in there another month or so," he said.

Jurors didn't completely trust the testimony of several witnesses, including Easton, Cannela said.

Easton originally faced a possible death penalty, but prosecutors let him plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against Jimenez. He was sentenced to 73 years in prison.

Jurors also disagreed about whether Baker went willingly to the campsite and who was at the campsite at what times, he said.

They ultimately decided prosecutors hadn't proved their case for first-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard required for conviction.

Jurors applied different definitions to that standard, Cannela said.

"The reasonable doubt is what bothered me," he said. "There's reasonable doubt whether the sun is going to come up, whether the sky is blue."

Jimenez's wife and about 10 friends and family members promised to stand by him, they said as they left the courtroom together.

"I love my husband very much, and I know that he is innocent," Traci Jimenez said. "He will be vindicated before this whole thing is over." THE VERDICT

First-degree murder after deliberation: Acquitted, but found guilty of the lesser offense of second-degree murder. Faces 16 to 48 years in prison.

Felony murder: Unable to reach verdict.

Kidnapping: Unable to reach verdict.

Rape: Unable to reach verdict.

Conspiracy to commit murder: Unable to reach verdict.

Accessory to a crime: Guilty. Faces 4 to 12 years in prison.