ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – One of the teens accused of murdering an Academy student at a house party last December wants to get out of jail. A new video was shown by the defense saying it proves Jesse Parra did not fire the deadly shot.
Prosecutors argued, on Monday, that Parra is a danger to the community and should remain behind bars. They also said there was evidence suggesting Parra was making calls from jail asking his family to contact the Gonzales family.
“The state’s concern if the court grants the motion to release him is that there is going to be more tampering with evidence and more witness tampering than there already has been,” said State Attorney Jolanna Kristyn Macias.
Jada Gonzales was at a Westside party on December 17, 2022. Police said, at that time, Parra, along with 16-year-old Isaiah Espinosa and 16-year-old Cruz Medina were flashing guns before they were kicked out.
As the group was about to leave in Parra’s Dodge Charger, shots were fired from the car into the house, fatally hitting Gonzales. Parra’s attorney has claimed Parra didn’t fire the fatal shot and has since asked to be released before trial.
During the hearing, his attorney played a video claiming it showed Espinosa, not Parra, firing the gun that killed Jada Gonzales. Parra’s mother also spoke in court asking for his release.
“I know he’s young, but he wasn’t the shooter, and I think everybody deserves a second chance, and we love our son, and we want him home,” said Parra’s mother.
Judge Courtney Weaks denied Parra’s motion for release. A trial date for Parra will be set at a later time. At the hearing, the state also said Parra’s family did contact the Gonzales family.
The judge ordered them from any form of contact with Jada Gonzales’s family. She even said she would limit who Parra can call if it happens again.
