FAYETTEVILLE -- A convicted rapist whose case was overturned on appeal entered a guilty plea last month rather than face a new trial in Washington County Circuit Court.
Cesar Figueroa, who a jury found guilty of attacking and raping a University of Arkansas student on campus in 2012, pleaded guilty Nov. 18 to rape and was sentenced to 25 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction, according to prosecutors.
Figueroa, now 26 years old, had been sentenced to 60 years in prison at his earlier trial.
"He didn't want to roll the dice again," said Matt Durrett, prosecutor. "For us, it was easier on the victim. She was OK with it."
In January, a three-judge panel of the Arkansas Court of Appeals reversed a March 2015 ruling by Washington County Circuit Court Judge Mark Lindsay refusing to grant a mistrial or a continuance in Figueroa's trial. The appeals court sent the case back to Lindsay.
Figueroa claimed his trial should have been halted once it was disclosed investigators sought an alternative suspect in the assault.
Figueroa's trial attorney, Autumn Tolbert, asked Lindsay for a mistrial or, alternatively, a continuance after a police captain testified investigators initially sought a different suspect before finding traces of DNA on the victim's shirt matching Figueroa's.
Tolbert's request for a mistrial or a continuance was denied on the grounds the revelation of a possible suspect wouldn't change the outcome of the trial.
The Court of Appeals agreed Lindsay should have granted a continuance to allow defense attorneys to further investigate.
NW News on 12/03/2016