A 14-year-old boy accused of participating in a violent home invasion with three of his buddies won't be going home, at least for awhile.
Defense attorney Richard Martinez asked Judge Michael Miller to let Benjamin Altamirano go home Monday, saying jail is an inappropriate place for a child and he isn't a flight risk.
Martinez said the county's pretrial services division is also recommending Altamirano's release and would be responsible for monitoring him until his case is resolved.
Martinez also pointed out his client doesn't fit the descriptions provided by the victims of the case.
If released, Martinez said his mother, grandmother and older sister would be keeping an eye on him. More than a dozen of Altamirano's family members attended the hearing.
Tucson police say Altamirano and his friends stormed into a house near South Kino Parkway and East Ajo Way on April 29 and tied up five people. A young girl was sexually abused, and one man was beaten in the head 15 times with a sawed-off shotgun, causing him to go unconscious.
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Prosecutor Jesse Delaney argued against letting Altamirano go, saying the $200,000 bond that has been imposed in the case is too low.
Delaney told Judge Miller the boys are actually suspected of committing two other home invasions in the same neighborhood around the same time as the other home invasion. She said the police are continuing their investigation into the case and are awaiting DNA results.
Delaney laughed at the idea of Altamirano's family keeping watch over him, pointing out they were the ones who were supposed to be keeping the boy under control at the time of the home invasions.
Altamirano is facing between 7 and 21 years in prison on several of the charges and is a flight risk, Delaney said.
"This was a horrific crime and he's a serious danger to the community and to the victims," Delaney said.
Angela Montijo told the judge her whole family has been torn apart by the incident. They are so terrified they put their house up for sale and they are all living in separate homes.
She is constantly looking in her rearview mirror for the defendants' family and for a fourth suspect who hasn't been arrested yet.
The tearful woman pleaded with the judge to leave Altamirano behind bars.
"My children do not deserve to live in fear," she said.
She understands how upset all of the boys' families are, but "we did not do this to them, they did this to us."
Judge Miller said he wanted to wait to make a decision until he has more information.
Altamirano is expected to be back in court early next month.
Altamirano and Alvaro Gonzalez, 15, are being treated as adults, and each was indicted on 13 counts of armed and aggravated robbery, five kidnapping counts and two burglary counts.
A third boy, who was 13 at the time of the home invasion, is being held in the juvenile detention center while doctors examine him to see if he is competent to stand trial.
If he is deemed competent, prosecutors will try to get his case transferred to Superior Court so they can treat him as an adult as well.
