DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Prosecutors say a teenager charged in adult court with reckless homicide for allegedly providing a fatal dose of drugs should not be allowed to appeal a ruling keeping her in adult court.
Maylia Sotelo, now 16, is charged in adult court with first-degree reckless homicide for the December death of an 18-year-old man at a De Pere home.
In Wisconsin, those ages 10 and older charged with certain homicide counts are prosecuted in adult court. The defense can ask for the case to be moved to juvenile court — known as a ‘reverse waiver’ — but such requests are not automatically granted. Brown County Judge Beau Liegeois denied Sotelo’s request, keeping her in adult court.
Sotelo’s attorneys want to appeal that decision — but such an appeal before the case is concluded requires the permission of the appeals court.
In its 26-page response to Sotelo’s request, Assistant Attorney General John Flynn encouraged the Court of Appeals to deny the petition.
“This Court should exercise its discretion and deny Sotelo’s petition. She has not shown any likelihood of success on the merits of her claim because she must prove the court erred in three different discretionary decisions, and she did not do so. She also fails to demonstrate that she meets the criteria for review. She has not shown substantial or irreparable harm, any need for clarity in the law, or that resolution would materially advance the litigation. Therefore, the petition should be denied,” Flynn wrote.
There is no set timeline for appeals to court to decide if it will hear the appeal. If it does accept it, that process would likely take several months. If the appeals court rejects the petition, the Brown County case would resume.
Currently, a Nov. 17 status conference is set before Judge Liegeois to check on the where the appeals court is on the case. The next step in circuit court will be an arraignment.
Sotelo, then 15, allegedly provided the drugs another teen overdosed on.
In a criminal complaint, prosecutors allege that on the morning of Dec. 3, the grandmother of the victim, identified only as J.D.M., called police when her grandson would not open the door.
First responders arrived at the home in De Pere. They knocked on the door of J.D.M.’s bedroom but did not hear a response. A paramedic forced the door open and noticed the 18-year-old was beyond help. Officers say the death seemed suspicious due to drug paraphernalia nearby. An autopsy confirmed that he had died from a fentanyl overdose.
The victim’s grandparents told first responders he had a history with drugs and had been to a rehab center in Minnesota earlier in the year, after he moved to Arizona for a short time before returning back to Wisconsin and living with his grandparents.
The victim’s mother met with a De Pere police officer to provide more evidence. She showed police conversations found on her son’s phone that they were able to trace to Sotelo, who sold him what she called a “bad batch” of Percocet.
Law enforcement then set up a “controlled buy” with Sotelo, then 15 years old, and arrested her.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Sotelo was found to be in possession of 775 fentanyl pills — 60% of which were lethal doses.
Sotelo told law enforcement she started smoking marijuana and then became addicted to Percocet. She said she did not want to sell but had to pay off a $500 debt to a person who gave her Percocet pills to sell.
