VAN NUYS : Murder Suspect to Be Tried as Adult

After a Juvenile Court judge ruled he should be prosecuted as an adult, a Van Nuys teen-ager was charged Thursday with murdering a 23-month-old boy who was allegedly thrown against a wall.

Alfredo Rodriguez, who recently turned 18, was charged in Van Nuys Municipal Court in the Jan. 10, 1993, death of Jesus Aguilar. Rodriguez was 16 at the time of the child’s death.

Prosecutors said Rodriguez was throwing Jesus and another young child across a room into a pile of pillows, but Jesus missed the pillows and smashed into a wall.

“He said he was just playing with the child,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert L. Cohen.

Jesus died from a massive skull fracture and other injuries to his body, according to a coroner’s autopsy.

While Rodriguez may not have had the intent to kill Jesus, prosecutors say he should be convicted of murder because his actions were so inherently dangerous.

Rodriguez was living with Josie Aguilar, the mother of the child, in an apartment in the 8000 block of Woodman Avenue, where the incident occurred. At the time, Josie Aguilar, who was then 19, was eight months pregnant with a child fathered by Rodriguez, authorities said.

A 9-year-old boy who was in the apartment at the time told police he heard banging coming from the living room.

A judge ruled Wednesday that Rodriguez was not fit to be prosecuted in Juvenile Court and ordered him tried as an adult.

Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in court today for an arraignment. He is currently being held by juvenile authorities, and prosecutors said they will ask that bail be set at $1 million.