Trial resumes for murder suspect who tried to run during jury selection

A Yakima man's murder trial settled into a relatively normal routine Wednesday afternoon after he attempted to fire his attorney and escape custody.

About 50 perspective jurors were in the courtroom when Jonathan A. Hidalgo, 21, ran for the door. He was tackled in the hallway by a Yakima County corrections officer and Yakima police Detective Matthew Lee, who handcuffed Hidalgo.

He was later returned to the courtroom in full shackles with three sheriff's deputies and a corrections officer surrounding him.

Originally charged with second-degree murder, prosecutors amended the charge recently to first-degree murder, arguing that Hidalgo's 2021 killing of his stepfather, Charles Ellis Wade Mills, was premeditated.

Attorney stays in place

Jury selection began Monday in Yakima County Superior Court, and attorneys believed they could empanel a jury by Tuesday afternoon. That plan was sidetracked when Hidalgo said he wanted to represent himself, claiming that his attorney, Charles Dold, was acting "unprofessional" toward him.

He accused Dold of trying to put someone on the jury that Hidalgo believed was hostile to his case.

At the time, Boswell gave Hidalgo until Wednesday morning to reconsider, but Hidalgo insisted that he had learned enough about the law during his three years in jail to handle his own case.

Boswell determined that Hidalgo, who dropped out of high school, lacked the knowledge of the law and criminal court procedure to effectively represent himself, which he said was apparent from Hidalgo's courtroom behavior.

He pointed out that Dold has 46 years of experience as an attorney and is highly professional.

"(Dold) is trying to get you a fair trial," Boswell said. "You may not understand it because you don't have the knowledge, you don't have the experience that he does."

Jury selection resumed until around 10:40 a.m., when Hidalgo bolted from the courtroom while Boswell, Dold and Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Nicholas Barrett were in a sidebar discussion.

After Hidalgo was caught and brought back to the courtroom, the judge rejected Dold's argument for a new trial, but ordered that Hidalgo remain in leg restraints for the duration of the trial. Hidalgo's seat was moved to a table on the opposite side of the courtroom from the jury box, and court staff draped both the defense and prosecution's tables with black tablecloths to keep Hidalgo's restraints hidden from view during the proceedings.

Opening statements

Outlining the state's case, Barrett said in his opening statement that Hidalgo made "an irreversible decision" on Jan. 27, 2021, when he shot Mills, 45, at their home in the 900 block of South 29th Avenue. 

Hidalgo called 911 and said that he shot Mills because he had video evidence that Mills was abusing a young girl, a fact he repeated to officers several times when he was taken into custody.

Hidalgo, Barrett said, took the time to smoke a marijuana joint before going to get the gun to shoot his stepfather.

One of the state's first witnesses, Rebecca Shay, recounted the events of that night. Shay, who owned the house where Hidalgo's family lived on the upper level, said she was outside with her partner and Hidalgo's mother when they heard a noise, which she described as sounding like it came from the fireplace.

Shortly afterward, Shay said she heard Hidalgo's mother screaming, and she went in to find Mills slumped over in his recliner, bleeding profusely from his mouth.

"I thought he had a stroke," Shay said.

Yakima police officers arrived and got Shay, her partner and Hidalgo's mother out of the house, and then ordered Hidalgo, who was still on the phone with 911 dispatchers, to come out.

YPD Officer Brad Althauser said he and other officers performed CPR on Mills, but he was dead.

Officer Ryan Davis said that Hidalgo freely gave him the passcode to unlock his cellphone, which Hidalgo said had video evidence that Mills was molesting the girl.

In his opening statement, Dold said it was unusual that the person reporting the crime was also the one who was going to be arrested and tried for it. Hidalgo, he said, had told his mother before what his stepfather was doing, and he was kicked out of the house.

The second time, he decided to act on his own to protect a child who couldn't tell anyone what was going on.

"He doesn't have a sense of guilt. He has a sense of purpose," Dold said. "That is the difference between homicide and protecting people."

The trial, which began Monday, is scheduled for eight days.