Gables High Stab Suspect Denied Bond
Andy Rodriguez was seeking release from jail
NBCMiami.com
Andy Rodriguez, 17, cries during a hearing in a Miami court on Thursday, November 19, 2009. Rodriguez is accused of stabbing his classmate, Juan Carlos Rivera, in the hallways of Coral Gables Senior High School.
A Miami-Dade judge ruled Monday that the teen accused of stabbing his Coral Gables High classmate will remain in jail while he awaits trial.
Andy Rodriguez, 17, was seeking his release from jail as he awaits his trial for the murder of 17-year-old Juan Carlos Rivera, but was denied bond.
"I do believe he deserves a bond, I think he should have a bond, I think he's entitled to a bond, and I'm disappointed but not surprised," Rodriguez's lawyer, Alexander Michaels, said after the hearing.
Rodriguez is accused of killing Rivera in the hallways of the high school during a fight on Sept. 15.
The two were reportedly in a dispute over Rodriguez's girlfriend. The two had reportedly gotten into a confrontation the day before, then things escalated when, according to Rodriguez, Rivera made a "bad face" to him.
Rodriguez claims the stabbing was self defense, and that Rivera came at him with a pen.
Rivera was stabbed five times, once in the heart, and died at the school. Rodriguez has been behind bars ever since.
Rodriguez was in court this past Thursday, with Michaels arguing that Rodriguez was never afforded an attorney during the interrogation and was never given his Miranda rights.
Rodriguez was shedding tears throughout the proceedings, including when tapes of his confession to police were played.
"He's very upset, he's crying everyday. He's not the way the state tried to portray him," Michaels said Thursday. "He's a very nice sensitive kid...it's a tragedy what happened."
In court last Thursday were both of the teens' mothers, including Anais Cruz, the Cuban mother of Juan Carlos Rivera, who came to Miami in September to bury her son.
