For Immediate Release:
December 5, 2022
Contact:
Jerri Mares – (505) 321-4372 Victor Sanchez – (575) 437-3640
Director of Communications 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office
Office of the NM Attorney General
ALAMOGORDO— Today, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and Twelfth Judicial District Attorney Scot Key announced that Ricardo Soto was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of killing a two-year-old toddler. Soto was convicted of Intentional Child Abuse Resulting in Death of a two-year-old toddler, Jeremiah Nevarez, following a three-week-long trial. The jury heard evidence that Soto, after inflicting the injuries which would eventually kill baby Jeremiah, fled to Mexico before his arrest at the border. Soto will not be eligible for parole until he has served a minimum of 25 years in prison. This case was prosecuted by the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office in partnership with the Office of the NM Attorney General.
“Murdering a child is a horrific crime, and our just system must deliver the strongest justice under the law in order to protect children in New Mexico and hopefully begin the healing process for a grieving mother and family,” said Attorney General Balderas.
“It is difficult to imagine a more heinous crime than killing an innocent child, and I am thankful that justice will be served with this life sentence,” said District Attorney Key.
This case was investigated by the New Mexico State Police and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Deputy Director of Prosecutions Mark Probasco, District Attorney Scot Key, and Chief Deputy District Attorney James Dickens.
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