12 March 14th-March 20th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | and Hernandez could likely be used against them, if properly redacted, he said. “Bruton is never a bar to prosecution,” Goddard said. “You’re focusing the jury on the other evidence that convicts the guy more than just the statement.” And if the other evidence is weak? Goddard admitted that was “hard.” “You don’t give up on murder,” he said. Goddard did not review the police and court documents in the Reyes case but pointed to the 1987 Supreme Court case Richardson v. Marsh, which involved the admissibility of a defendant’s confession, redacted to excise mentions of the co-defendant. “Richardson basically said, look, you can excise the statement or edit the state- ment so that you don’t name the other person,” he said. A court hearing would be necessary to redact portions of the statement, Goddard said. They’re no angels Since Angel’s death, both Gonzalez and Hernandez have had issues with the law. Gonzalez is in prison doing a four-year stint for armed robbery in connection with stealing a young man’s PlayStation 5 at gunpoint in December 2021, according to court documents. Police records stated Gonzalez claimed Hernandez, wearing a mask, was his accomplice and pistol- whipped the victim. In April 2023, Phoenix police arrested Hernandez on 24 counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm and possessing four semi-automatic handguns that he had ille- gally converted to automatic. Through a national database, police connected shell casings at 19 separate inci- dents to Hernandez. These involved drive- by shootings where unknown suspects fired at cars, a man on a motorcycle, a townhouse and vacant lots. In one case, an occupied Maserati parked in a driveway was hit multiple times. No one was injured, but police recovered 14 .40-caliber casings fired from two handguns. Hernandez pleaded guilty to four counts involving disorderly conduct with weapons, discharging a weapon within city limits and possessing a prohibited weapon. He was sentenced to nine months in jail and three years of probation. Hernandez’s public defender did not respond to a call for comment. An attempt to reach Hernandez by phone was unsuccessful. By contrast, Angel had no criminal convictions. Court records show one charge for possession of marijuana in 2020 that was dismissed. His Facebook page shows him displaying his Glock. Angel regularly gave his mother and siblings money from his paycheck and bought them ice cream. Reyes said she’s dissatisfied with the work county prosecutors and police have done on her son’s slaying. The case agent recently told her he’s retiring, so he’ll be handing the file to another detective. He told her not to expect the new detective to contact her unless there are new develop- ments, Reyes said. She’s irked by all the media attention surrounding the Gilbert Goons and a string of aggravated assaults in the East Valley. Where’s the outrage for homicide victims in west and South Phoenix, she asked? Angel’s birthday was March 7. He would have been 22. “What else does he have to do to get some attention, to get some justice?” Reyes asked. “Is it because of where he comes from? Why does that even have to be a factor in it? He died, he asked for a ride. Why is there nothing being done?” She was riled to find out that Hernandez, who also lives in west Phoenix, was released from jail in early January. She said Hernandez attended her son’s funeral in December 2021, laying a rose on Angel’s coffin. She didn’t know who he was at the time. It was only later, when a detective sent her Hernandez’s mugshot, that she recog- nized him from the funeral. “It makes me fucking angry,” Reyes said. “It makes me angry that this kid is just doing whatever he wants, and no one is doing anything about it. It makes me angry that at any point I could run into him at any of the stores around here, that my other kids could be with me, and they’re going to know who he is. It breaks my heart all over again.” Angel Reyes was gunned down in 2021 in a case the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said it can’t prosecute. (Photo courtesy of Angelica Reyes) Justice for Angel? from p 10
