A convicted murderer accused of trying to escape from a state prison on Tucson's southeast side told jurors Tuesday the prosecutor will have a hard time proving his guilt.
"There's no evidence that shows I knowingly intended to escape," Joshua Aston, 23, said during opening statements in Pima County Superior Court.
On May 13, 2009, a corrections officer doing a head count realized the lump underneath the blankets in Aston's cell was more blankets and Aston was missing, Deputy Pima County Attorney Laura Audsley told jurors.
A Tucson police officer later spotted Aston and another inmate lying on the ground between the third and final fence of the prison complex's Cimarron Unit, 10000 S. Wilmot Road, Audsley said.
Aston, who is charged with second-degree escape, is representing himself during the trial. Jurors have not been told why he was in prison. He was dressed in street clothes so as to not prejudice the jury.
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Aston started his opening statement by apologizing to the jury for not standing up. He said he is wearing chains, and it's uncomfortable to stand or walk. He pleaded with the jury to bear with him since he has no legal training, only a general equivalency diploma.
Aston was convicted in the slaying of a Del Monte Fresh Produce regional manager in Maricopa County in 2004.
Aston, his cousin and a brother left their homes near St. Louis to engage in a crime spree, according to media reports. Aston and his cousin, Justin Harrison, were convicted of shooting Pedro Corzo, 35, to death after he stepped out of his vehicle to remove boulders set up to block a road.
Harrison was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder to avoid the death penalty. Aston, who was 16 at the time of the slaying, is also serving a life sentence.
The other inmate linked to the suspected escape attempt with Aston was John Wells, 48.
Wells was convicted in Maryland on three counts of armed robbery and for three escapes. He was transferred to the Tucson prison 11 years before the May 2009 incident, the Arizona Department of Corrections said. He pleaded guilty to escape last year and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.
After the incident, both men were sent to the maximum-security unit at the Arizona State Prison Complex Eyman in Florence.
Prison officials said last year that the men were in close custody, which is one level below maximum security.
Judge Howard Fell is presiding over Aston's trial.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
