A group of supporters traveled to Miami to support the teen who confessed to stabbing his mother to death.
On Friday, Derek Rosa, the Hialeah teen who confessed to killing his mother Irina Garcia, was scheduled for a court appearance. However, the status hearing was canceled and scheduled for next month.
In an exclusive interview with NBC6, the attorney for Derek Rosa, Dayliset Rielo, said the hearing was canceled because MetroWest, the Miami-Dade jail where Rosa is being housed in, provided Rosa’s December activity logs.
Rosa, who’s in the juvenile wing inside the adult facility is constantly being monitored. His activity is logged every 10 minutes. Defense attorneys plan to review those December logs to make sure their 13-year-old client is provided with the proper schooling and medical help. Every month, the jail will be required to do the same.
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Rosa’s attorneys were denied a request to move the teen to the Juvenile Detention Center last year.
The hearing cancellation came as a surprise to more than a dozen Rosa supporters who came to town from as far as Chicago.
“You know what a lot of kids can be manipulated, and I think he was manipulated. This is why I’m here,” said Ariana, a mother from Chicago outside the Miami-Dade Justice building. “To protest and to speak my voice. Like we are all here to do. I think he’s innocent."
Ariana was hoping to meet the defendant's family, see Rosa, and listen to the hearing.
Rosa's attorneys told NBC6 that the groups are not associated with them.
“We're certainly very thankful for all the support. The family is very thankful for all the support," Rielo said. "We do get a lot of correspondence from people in Australia, from people in South America, all over the world. However, we do want to make it clear that we are not affiliated with any one organization.”
Rosa is facing first-degree murder for confessing to killing his mother. The teen was heard confessing to the murder during a 911 call and a police interview, both made public.
As of now, the trial is scheduled for February. However, Rielo says she is still waiting for prosecutors to hand over the remaining evidence.
“The quicker that the state attorney continues to turn over the evidence, the quicker we can prepare and be ready for trial,” Rielo said.
Rosa has a court hearing on Feb. 2, where the family hopes Judge Richard Hersch declare him indigent. This occurs when the family is unable to pay for private attorneys. The state will then be required to pay for the preparation of the case, including forensic and mental health experts needed.
