Travis Soto, charged with aggravated murder for the 2006 death of his young son, appeared in Putnam County Common Pleas Court on Thursday seeking a reduction in his $500,000 bond. The motion was denied by Judge Keith Schierloh.
J Swygart | The Lima News
OTTAWA — Travis Soto, the Napoleon resident charged with aggravated murder and other offenses related to the 2006 death of his young son more than 17 years ago, was back in a Putnam County courtroom Thursday dressed in civilian clothes and seeking a reduction in his $500,000 bond.
He left the courtroom disappointed when Putnam County Common Pleas Judge Keith Schierloh denied the request, citing the “severity of the charges” and ordering Soto back to the county jail to await trial.
Soto had filed the motion without the assistance of counsel, claiming his time as a trustee while in the Putnam County jail demonstrates that he is not a risk to the community. Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Gary Lammers, who objected to the bond reduction, said he anticipates returning to court within a month on a different matter.
Thursday morning’s hearing was the latest in Soto’s lengthy trip through the legal system following his admission in 2016, after serving a five-year prison sentence for child endangering, that he had killed his young son.
Soto initially told police in 2006 that his son, Julio, died in an all-terrain vehicle mishap. After completing his five-year prison sentence and apparently haunted by his own conscience, Soto walked into the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in 2016 and admitted he had actually beaten his son to death. Soto was indicted on new charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, kidnapping and tampering with evidence, but his attorneys filed a motion to dismiss all counts on double-jeopardy grounds, which prevents defendants from being tried for the same crime twice.
That’s where the case started its circuitous journey, starting in the local common pleas court, continuing to a state appellate court and eventually finding its way to the Ohio Supreme Court as defense attorneys pursued claims that their client was being charged in violation of double-jeopardy statutes.
The Ohio Third District Court of Appeals supported Soto’s appeal but, in a 6-1 opinion, the Supreme Court of Ohio reversed the appeals court, holding that because the involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed as part of a plea bargain before a jury was empanelled, jeopardy never attached to that charge. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Soto’s case, and in August the Sixth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati agreed with the Ohio Supreme Court that the double-jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution does not bar Soto from facing the current charges, effectively returning the matter back to Putnam County.
Following the rejection of Soto’s request for a reduction in bond on Thursday, Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Gary Lammers said the next major event in the case will likely come within the next month. Lammers said attorneys from the Ohio Public Defenders Office representing Soto have suggested a motion will be filed in the near future seeking the dismissal of all charges in the case. The request reportedly will be made based on components included in the initial plea offer made by prosecutors.
