Suspect who taunted prosecutor on Instagram sentenced "in absentia"
New York, NY -- A man facing a murder charge in Westchester County, who fled after closing arguments in a separate assault case in the Bronx, was sentenced "in absentia" today to 10 years in prison followed by five years post-release supervision.
The only hitch might be getting him behind bars.
Ronald DeJesus Plaza, whose family put up their home for his release on $250,000 bail in Westchester County and who listened to closing arguments during a Dec. 3 appearance in the Bronx, has not been seen or heard from since he failed to show up at court the following day, according to his lawyer and the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
Plaza did not just lie low, either. That weekend, he posted to an Instagram account a photo of an expensive rum with a message taunting the Assistant D.A. prosecuting the case: "Salute Mr. Miller, this is a good rum," it said, according to an image supplied by the Bronx DA.
The jury went ahead and rendered its guilty verdict in Plaza's absence four days later, on Dec. 7, for the June 2014 attack outside a Bronx nightclub. During that incident, Plaza punched and slashed a man in the face and, along with another man, caused his victim to require nearly two-dozen stitches and staples on his face and head, according to the Bronx DA.
Plaza turned himself in 11 days later for that attack and was also facing charges in Westchester County that included attempted murder allegedly committed during a robbery, when he fled. The case was still in pre-trial hearings, according to Plaza's attorney Alain Massena, representing him in both cases.
A bench warrant has been issued for Plaza's arrest in the Bronx. After he also failed to show up to his latest court date in Westchester, a warrant was issued for him there, too.
Massena said he has been in touch with Plaza's family and that they are worried about having leveraged their home for his $250,000 bail in the Westchester case; he was released on $5,000 in the Bronx.
"They're just concerned that this is a lot of money and they're concerned about the ramifications of them possibly losing their house," Massena said.
While Massena said the seriousness of the Bronx jury's deliberation in the case even after Plaza's disappearance was a sign of his case's strength, he said "I'm disappointed that Mr. Plaza decided not to return to court," and that his "very loving and caring family" may have to pay the consequences of his actions.
According to the Bronx DA, jury deliberations only lasted five to six hours.