BENTONVILLE -- Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren granted permission for a murder suspect to attend his 3-year-old daughter's funeral.
Gustavo Enrique Peraza, 31, of Rogers has pleaded not guilty to capital murder and battery. He accused in the 2021 death of 2-year-old Ryland McDonald. Peraza is being held without bond in the Benton County Jail.
Aaron Cash, one of Peraza's attorneys, asked Karren on Monday for permission for Peraza to go to the funeral. Cash said the child died last week, but did not provide any other specifics.
Prosecutors didn't object to the request, and safeguards will be put in place while Peraza is at the funeral, Cash said.
Peraza must be in shackles and will wear a stun belt, Cash said. Peraza won't be allowed to speak with anyone while at the funeral, Cash said.
Karren wanted to know the location of the funeral and was concerned if it was held in Oklahoma.
Cash said the time and location of the funeral had not been scheduled, but the services will take place in Rogers. Cash plans to file a motion with the details of the services, and he requested the motion be sealed.
Joshua Robinson, senior deputy prosecutor, said he had spoken with Meyer Gilbert, chief deputy for the Benton County Sheriff's Office, and Gilbert did not object to deputies transporting Peraza to the funeral. Robinson said Peraza will be in the presence of deputies at all times while at the funeral.
Peraza was the boyfriend of Breyana Sawyer, Ryland's mother, according to court documents. He babysat the boy while Sawyer worked, according to court documents. Ryland died Aug. 24, 2021.
Police started investigating after being notified of the death by Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. Trauma to the stomach injured the boy's intestines, which led to a serious infection that caused his death, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A doctor told police the type of injury Ryland suffered is typically caused by a punch or kick to a child's abdomen and is typically inflicted within a week of death, the affidavit states.
Peraza's jury trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 6.
Prosecutors haven't waived the death penalty in Peraza's case. If convicted of capital murder, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment without the benefit of parole or the death penalty.