Five of the six defendants accused of being involved in the beating and stabbing of a Hutchinson man back in February were bound over for trial Wednesday, while the case against a sixth defendant Jordon Leshore will be considered later this month.
The hearing started last month, but the state wasn’t able to finish presenting evidence so hearing concluded Wednesday.
Five of the suspects arrested in association with the beating and stabbing of Jeffrey Payne are charged with attempted first degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated burglary. The five include Jordon LeShore, Sean Arevalo Mendoza, Desmond Cantu, Troy Bell and Joseph LeShore.
One of the suspects, John Robert Cantu is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and aggravated battery, but at the end of the hearing he was also bound over for the same charges as the other defendants, that in addition to the original charges against him. He is believed to have been driving one of the vehicles with three of the defendant’s over to Payne’s home, but it doesn’t appear he went inside.
21-year-old Sean Arevalo Mendoza was on the stand late Wednesday afternoon after he been bound over for trial. He was given limited use immunity for his testimony which was based on statements he made earlier. He testified in what could only be described as uncooperative with Senior Assistant District Attorney Steve Maxwell over what happened the night of the beating. An example would be when Maxwell asked him to describe the knife. He told the court, “it was sharp and pointy.”
At one point, his attorney asked for time to talk with his client. Attorney Ben Fisher was not happy with the state calling his client to the stand and wanted a chance to calm his down some. Arevalo-Mendoza had not been subpoenaed to testify, but was given “limited use immunity” meaning the state cannot use his testimony against him at trial.
Other testimony centered on Eric Roberts testifying on his knowledge of the case and also police detectives testifying about interviews they did with certain defendants including Troy Bell. The state did show a video of that interview which was difficult to hear in the gallery of the court room. The hearing was held in the Division 1courtroom used for trials with Judge Trish Rose.
The attack on Payne occurred back on February 18, when these men allegedly broke into Payne’s home and physically attacked and stabbed him numerous times in the leg and torso.
The motive for the attack appears to be an incident involving the LeShore brothers mother where she may have been slapped so hard, she was knocked down.
The hearing for Jordon LeShore over his part in this case and also some probation violations will be considered by Judge McCarville on June 13.