OPD Client Takes Deal in Capital Trial Case

The Office of the Ohio Public Defender, and private attorney Javier Armengau, represented Juan Cruz, a young Mexican citizen facing capital murder charges for the shooting of a Marion County deputy in October 2004. Mr. Cruz ended his case on Sept. 9, 2005 with a plea agreement that resulted in a sentence of 43 to life. Given the facts in the case, Mr. Cruz and his family welcomed a resolution that took the death penalty off the table and gave him some hope for parole.