(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Over 28 years ago, when Jorge B. Trujillo was 28-years-old, he allegedly sold cocaine to undercover law enforcement officers and a confidential informant in Kenosha County. For the controlled buys, a state agent and local police posed as drug users and met up with him on two occasions and Trujillo allegedly sold $150 worth of cocaine on April 30, 1996, and $300 worth on June 25, 1996. A warrant was issued and he was pulled over and arrested on December 17, 1996. He was allegedly in possession of a “small amount of cocaine” on this date.
On December 18, 1996, he was charged with two counts of Felony Delivery Of Cocaine and one count of Possession Of Cocaine. He faced 21 years in the Wisconsin Prison System. This, however, was before truth-in-sentencing, so he would likely not have served that many years in prison.
Trujillo was given a $10,000 cash bail, which he posted. He would never be seen in Kenosha County for the next 28 years. He fled to Mexico. On January 28, 1997, Court Commissioner Carl Greco issued a $100,000 warrant. Trujillo remained in Mexico, seemingly until this year, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement captured Trujillo in Texas. Law Enforcement asked DA Mike Graveley (D) if he wanted to spend the tens of thousands of dollars to extradite and prosecute Trujillo to Kenosha. He agreed to do so.
(Kenosha County Sheriff)
Trujillo was booked into the Kenosha County Jail on June 12, 2024. The Kenosha District Attorney’s Office is pursuing a trial and conviction on the matter. KCE is told that most of the witnesses have passed away.
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
A court hearing was held today, because defense attorney Michelle Gardner said that the state hasn’t turned over all of the discovery and that in August of this year, the prosecutor said that the drugs were still in evidence. Today, however, the state conceded that some or most of the drugs were destroyed by law enforcement. Gardner argued in her motion that the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office didn’t turn over a photograph that police used to identify Trujillo, labeled copies of the cassette tapes recorded on both April 30, 1996 and June 25, 1996, the chain of custody report for the drugs in the April 30, 1996 allegation, and the booking photo of Mr. Trujillo used to compare.
The defense asked that the case be dismissed due to a Brady violation, which is a landmark case mandating that all evidence is turned over to the defendant before trial.
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
In court today, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Anthony Milisauskas noted that last week, he wanted to know if the drugs were destroyed or not and asked ADA Sydney Star “You have to know when [the drugs] were destroyed. When were they destroyed?”
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
ADA Star began to talk about a separate issue and she was interrupted by the judge who stated “I’m asking you a simple question, so answer my question.” Star then said that she didn’t know if the drugs were all destroyed but conceded that much of the drugs were destroyed. Star then told the court that she was “caught off guard” by the defense’s motion. “How could you be caught off guard when the defense filed a discovery motion on June 18?” asked the judge. “So why weren’t you providing the evidence to the defense when [the defense filed the discovery motion] on June 18th?”
Ultimately, Judge Milisauskas seemed angry at the DA’s office, but refused to dismiss the case. “I’m not in a position to dismiss the case right now,” he told the parties.
A member of the legal community told KCE that DA Graveley made a mistake by paying the large amount of money to prosecute this case as it likely isn’t winnable. “[Graveley] should have evaluated this case and checked on the evidence and witnesses before he extradited this man. That’s why the statute of limitations exist. After almost three decades, it’s almost impossible to win a case. Evidence gets destroyed, witnesses die or are unavailable.” Trujillo will likely be deported either way.
Trujillo’s attorney had previously told the court that he just wants to go back to Mexico and be with his family. Graveley, instead, wants Trujillo in Wisconsin’s prisons.
A motion hearing was scheduled for December 13, 2024 and the trial was set for February 17, 2024.
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
25 Responses
No doubt Sydney Star is another one of Graveley’s Angels who might consider changing employer.
None of that crap show surprises me!
Star is a complete frickin idiot. “I was caught off guard!” She was caught not doing her job.
Kevin, can you post the criminal complaint?
Well, don’t sell cocain (esp to cops) and face your punishment for doing the crime.
Give him a free ride back to Mexico so he can illegally jump the border back into TX to sell drugs again.
What a racket. No consequences ever, same old shit. How much fentanyl has he brought into the US?
How many lives ruined because of his existence?
He wants to go to Mexico? Nope, prison in Wisconsin instead
You don’t destroy SOME of the drugs. They’re all sealed up in the evidence for that case. There isn’t some random pile of drugs bags scattered about…. either they still have it in a sealed and protected state… or it was all destroyed.
The man looked over his shoulder for 28 years after paying the county $10k. Send him back to Mexico and quit wasting our money.
When I worked in a courthouse. Mike Gravely in my opinion was substandard. So was that Judge Wagner she would gossip about court cases all the time.
Calling Wagner substandard is generous of you. She was an idiot
The guy’s been away from Kenosha for 28 years, probably living a law abiding life in Mexico. He’s turned his life around, and the case is likely not winnable anyway, let the poor guy go home!
Law abiding?? They found him in TX—illegally!
Dumbass
How fucking dumb are you Artie ?
I hate to say it, but prosecution fucked up big time
and this guy is entitled to a free pass back home
and a public apology.
Even though any statute of limitations requires that you have
have not fled the immediate area.
Fine him Heavy, and send him back to Mexico, why put him on the taxpayer’s payroll. if he comes back nail him again with heavy money fines
Another galactically stupid comment. You idiots are on a roll.
Let’s fix our broken system! Transporting a felon from TX to WI should not cost $10,000+.
A bounty hunter could rent a U-Haul one way and fly back to TX for a lot less than 10k.
I’m really looking forward to seeing a secure border in my life time! The current administration FLY’s immigrants into our country on our dime which is treasonous and criminal!
This costs you as both a county taxpayer and a State taxpayer.
You pay to house him in jail, you pay for the Judge, and attorneys on both sides.
Then, if he gets prison time you pay for that!
I am sure Attorney Solis would have passed on this waste.
Let’s get violent criminals off Kenosha streets first, then worry about make work crime to justify salaries.
He’s not black so Gravely wants to throw the book at him.
Gravely is a moron . Retire already , you fool.
So let me get this straight, he posted a $10k bond in the 90s and was never seen again. And he has since been sitting in a Kenosha jail for 6 months? He already lost his $10k bail money and served 6 months.
Holy shit, the man sold $150 worth of cocaine. Hand him over to ICE, place him in a detention center and send his ass back to Mexico.
so buy your way out of felonies and go on vacation for awhile…I will keep that in mind.
Hang him
Let’s not hold ADA Star responsible for this situation. The real culprits are her boss and most of loser Carli. She is aware that her ADA is very slow, which indicates her lack understanding of the limitations faced by those they are meant to supervise. Even more troubling is the question of why loser Carli would pursue a case without any evidence. It’s not ADA Star’s fault that such a poor performance has occurred.