MONROE - A tentative trial date of late February was set this week for two Beloit suspects charged with the attempted robbery of the El Borrego grocery store in downtown Monroe in April.
A third suspect, 26-year-old Jonathon Guadarrama, was killed in a police chase near Juda following the incident, which began on the Square.
Luis Western, 35, and Luis Cruz, 31, appeared in Green County Circuit Court Tuesday in front of Judge Thomas Vale for a status conference. District Attorney Gary Luhman appeared for the state.
A status conference was set for 9 a.m. Dec. 16 and a trial date was set for Feb. 28 to March 2. It's still unknown if the defendants will be tried together or separately.
Luhman testified that the state contacted the state crime lab last week on evidence that was submitted from the attempted robbery and the analysis has been done on most of the items tested. The crime lab will retest one or two items for more information; Luhman said he hopes that all test work and discovery will be done by the Dec. 16 status conference.
Western is charged with substantial battery/intend bodily harm, a class I felony; two counts of armed robbery; class C felonies; and false imprisonment, a class H felony.
Cruz is charged with substantial battery/intend bodily harm, a class I felony; two counts of armed robbery, both class C felonies; and false imprisonment, a class H felony.
The incident began the morning of April 5, when three men allegedly entered the store in the 1000 block of 16th Avenue in Monroe and confronted the 32-year-old store owner and a customer.
They reportedly got an undetermined amount of cash from the store but allegedly wanted more.
Two suspects allegedly forced the owner to go with them to cash a check at the bank, while the third stayed with the 28-year-old friend of the store owner.
Bank personnel became suspicious and called police, who eventually arrested the pair. Guadarrama, however, fled the scene, with police in pursuit. He crashed the minivan he was driving after hitting police stop spikes near Bagley Road, east of Juda, losing control and flipping the van several times. He was ejected and died at the scene.
A handgun was reportedly found at the crash site, and police have been cleared by outside reviewing agencies of any liability or wrongdoing related to the fatality.
- Holly Ann Garey
A third suspect, 26-year-old Jonathon Guadarrama, was killed in a police chase near Juda following the incident, which began on the Square.
Luis Western, 35, and Luis Cruz, 31, appeared in Green County Circuit Court Tuesday in front of Judge Thomas Vale for a status conference. District Attorney Gary Luhman appeared for the state.
A status conference was set for 9 a.m. Dec. 16 and a trial date was set for Feb. 28 to March 2. It's still unknown if the defendants will be tried together or separately.
Luhman testified that the state contacted the state crime lab last week on evidence that was submitted from the attempted robbery and the analysis has been done on most of the items tested. The crime lab will retest one or two items for more information; Luhman said he hopes that all test work and discovery will be done by the Dec. 16 status conference.
Western is charged with substantial battery/intend bodily harm, a class I felony; two counts of armed robbery; class C felonies; and false imprisonment, a class H felony.
Cruz is charged with substantial battery/intend bodily harm, a class I felony; two counts of armed robbery, both class C felonies; and false imprisonment, a class H felony.
The incident began the morning of April 5, when three men allegedly entered the store in the 1000 block of 16th Avenue in Monroe and confronted the 32-year-old store owner and a customer.
They reportedly got an undetermined amount of cash from the store but allegedly wanted more.
Two suspects allegedly forced the owner to go with them to cash a check at the bank, while the third stayed with the 28-year-old friend of the store owner.
Bank personnel became suspicious and called police, who eventually arrested the pair. Guadarrama, however, fled the scene, with police in pursuit. He crashed the minivan he was driving after hitting police stop spikes near Bagley Road, east of Juda, losing control and flipping the van several times. He was ejected and died at the scene.
A handgun was reportedly found at the crash site, and police have been cleared by outside reviewing agencies of any liability or wrongdoing related to the fatality.
- Holly Ann Garey