SANTA ROSA – The California Supreme Court has reversed a Sonoma County Judge’s decision to dismiss all charges against a man based on the deportation of a potential defense witness in an attempted murder case.

Armando Monter Jacinto's case now is expected to head back to court, according to Sonoma County

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua.

“I am pleased the California Supreme Court agreed with our assessment of the law,” Passalacqua said. “With the charges reinstated we intend to seek justice for the victim in spite of this great delay.”

Jacinto was charged in May of 2006 with attempting to kill Victor Retana. The case was set for trial and during pretrial proceedings the defense moved to dismiss the case based on the fact that a witness who was housed at the jail had been deported to Mexico at the conclusion of his sentence, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

Although the witness had been subpoenaed to appear at trial, the trial was set for a date after his release from jail. Passalacqua's office objected to the dismissal stating that they had no knowledge of the witness or that he was subpoenaed. At the time, the defense attorney informed the court that although the witness had been subpoenaed by the defense, the prosecutor knew nothing about the witness because the defense tactically chose not to disclose that information.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Antolini dismissed all charges despite the prosecutor’s objection. At the time, the prosecutor stated that the prosecution was not complicit in the deportation and should not be sanctioned with a dismissal of the case because of it, especially when the defense never told the prosecutor about the witness, Passalacqua's office reported.

At a hearing in 2007, a Sonoma County Judge found that Jacinto’s case was compromised because a witness for the defense had been deported by federal authorities.

The California Supreme Court ordered the Sonoma County Superior Court to reinstate the charges stating that the jail “properly acquiesced” to releasing the witness to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because he was in violation of immigration laws, the prosecutor played no part in that decision to cooperate, and ruled that the defense was not powerless to ensure their witness would appear at trial.

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