Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CLOVIS — A Clovis man convicted by jury trial Thursday of multiple felonies faces up to 25 years in prison, prosecutors say, but his defense attorney said he’ll be asking for a new trial before it gets to sentencing.
Jesus Villa, 30, was found guilty by a Curry County jury on seven counts, including aggravated battery against a household member, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a household member, child abuse and battery on a household member, according to a news release Thursday from the 9th Judicial District attorney.
The charges stem from Sept. 3, 2016, when Villa was accused of running his wife off the road in one vehicle while she and three young children were “trying to leave their home in Portales and go to her family’s home in Clovis after being battered by Villa,” said the release.
Villa’s defense attorney Eric Dixon said the case was “basically a child custody dispute” and that he would file for a new trial on the basis of “some constitutional/evidentiary issues that need to be addressed by the court.”
“I’m going to be asking for a new jury trial, so we’re a long way from any sort of sentencing,” said Dixon, who maintained Villa’s innocence.
Deputy District Attorney Jake Boazman represented the state and Judge Fred Van Soelen presided over the one-day trial. Villa remains out on bond pending a sentencing hearing currently scheduled for next month.