Idaho inmate charged with murder enters plea as prosecutor weighs seeking death penalty
An Idaho prisoner who could face the death penalty on a charge of murdering another inmate pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday at the Ada County Courthouse.
The jury trial of Juan Santos-Quintero Jr., 27, on one felony count of first-degree murder was set to begin April 9 and last five weeks by Judge Steven Hippler of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District. If convicted, Santos-Quintero faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, plus fines and restitution to the victim’s family, and up to a death sentence if prosecutors seek it, Hippler told the defendant.
Santos-Quintero is accused of kicking and stomping the head and chest of Junior Garcia, 26, of Idaho Falls, at Idaho’s maximum security prison in Kuna in June. Garcia was left seriously injured after he was allegedly attacked by Santos-Quintero and another inmate and taken to a Boise hospital. He died there four days later, the state prison system reported.
Following an Idaho State Police investigation into the fatal incident, a grand jury indicted Santos-Quintero on the murder charge and fellow prisoner Joshua R. Pedroza, 30, on a felony aggravated battery charge. Hippler consolidated the two cases, and the two defendants are scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 30.
Idaho State Police completed its investigation in August and turned over the records to county prosecutors, who pursued the grand jury indictments. The police agency last week denied a public records request from the Idaho Statesman for those investigation documents and cited active litigation that precludes their release.
Ada County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Emily Lowe told the Statesman on Monday by email that the office will not release an incident narrative while the case is pending.
Santos-Quintero already is serving 11 felony sentences out of Bonneville and Bingham counties, including life in prison after he was convicted of aggravated assault or battery upon certain personnel. He is eligible for parole in December 2044.
Pedroza, meanwhile, is serving up to an eight-year sentence for a felony domestic violence with traumatic injury conviction and is scheduled to be released in August 2025. If found guilty of aggravated battery in connection with Garcia’s death, he faces up to 15 years in prison, Lowe said.
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Tanner Stellmon is prosecuting the two defendants. He has yet to say whether he will seek the death penalty for Santos-Quintero, but Monday’s arraignment means that the Prosecutor’s Office now has 60 days to issue its intent.
“The state is now on the clock,” Hippler reminded Stellmon in court Monday.
Santos-Quintero is represented by three members of the Ada County Public Defender’s Office. Attorneys Abby Broyles, as well as Amy Mitchell and the office’s chief public defender, Anthony Geddes, appeared with Santos-Quintero for his Monday arraignment.
At Pedroza’s initial appearance last week, a magistrate judge also appointed attorneys from the Ada County Public Defender’s Office, but they have yet to be assigned by name, according to court records.
