Man to Stand Trial for Murder of Young Boy
A San Juan Capistrano man was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges he molested and murdered his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son, officials said.
Leopoldo Ponce, 23, is accused of killing Mauro Colon while caring for the boy in May 1995, said Deputy Dist. Atty. David Brent. Ponce has pleaded not guilty.
After hearing evidence about the case during a preliminary hearing Friday in Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel, Judge Ronald P. Kreber ordered Ponce to stand trial.
Defense attorney Ruben J. Salgado said the child was ill at the time and began choking on something shortly before his death. Ponce and neighbors tried to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR to no avail, Salgado said.
Ponce also denies molesting the boy.
“This was a very tragic case, where someone was trying to save the child,” Salgado said.
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