By Sahaily Zazueta
MODESTO, CA- The victim—who said she sustained a lacerated lip in a domestic violence case—was the only witness called to testify in a preliminary hearing held in Stanislaus County Superior Court Friday. The accused is now set for trial.
Jorje Alejandres is alleged to have hit and bit the mother of his child on Jan. 16, 2021, in Modesto. The bite is alleged to have resulted in a laceration on the victim’s lip. He is also charged with a count of use of a deadly weapon and child endangerment.
Alejandres was assisted by a Spanish language interpreter, and the victim was also assisted by a Spanish language interpreter.
The victim took the stand with their young toddler in her arms. There was a bit of chaos in the courtroom with the cries of the child often interrupting the translations between the attorneys, interpreter and victim.
The victim testified that on the night of the alleged incident, she returned to her home with the accused after visiting her mother. She also stated that Alejandres began accusing her of cheating and proceeded to hit her and bite her lip.
Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Lee presented a photo of the victim’s lacerated lip. After responding that she did not receive any medical treatment for the injury, DDA Lee stated he had no further questions.
On cross-examination, Alejandres’ attorney Ryan Roth asked the victim if she had been arrested for domestic violence in which Alejandres was the victim. She answered affirmatively but stated that Alejandres’ had also instigated the incident in that case.
Having found no evidence to support the counts of the use of a deadly weapon and child endangerment, Judge Linda McFadden dismissed those counts in this case. Alejandres will only be held to answer for the count of domestic violence.
Alejandres’ attorney hoped to reduce the domestic violence charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, but DDA Lee stated he believed the evidence showed proof of great bodily injury.
In regard to the injury, Judge McFadden stated, “We didn’t really get into the details about how long that took to clear up or what was needed for her to get well. It doesn’t look like there were any broken bones but we kind of didn’t really discuss a lot about everything that was happening in the relationship.”
Judge McFadden denied Roth’s request to reduce the domestic violence charge to a misdemeanor.
Alejandres’ will return to court on May 13 for arraignment and trial setting.
