Convicted Killer Seeks To Void Guilty Plea
Posted: January 23, 2012 at 2:18 p.m.
A local judge will decide whether a convicted killer was competent when he pleaded guilty to killing a man in 2006.
Serafin Sandoval-Vega, 24, made his first appearance Monday in a Benton County courtroom since pleading guilty to capital murder in July 2008. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Daniel Francis was shot and killed in May 2006 while riding in a car traveling north on U.S. Highway 71 Business in Lowell. Sandoval-Vega admitted fired the shot while sitting in the back seat of a car driven by Manuel Camacho.
Sandoval-Vega says he received ineffective assistance from his attorneys at trial.
The Benton County Public Defender’s Office can not represent Sandoval-Vega again because the office originally represented him. The court will file a request with the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, who then will appoint an attorney for Sandoval-Vega.
A status hearing will be held on Feb. 13.
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