Judge says murder charge will stand in deadly assault of Chesterfield man
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A judge ruled that the man accused of assaulting and killing a 27-year-old Chesterfield County man in Oct. 2024 will go to trial for second-degree murder, despite the defense arguing that his charge be reduced.
On Tuesday, March 4, 27-year-old Nico Rivera of Hanover County stood before a Richmond City General District Court judge for a preliminary hearing regarding the deadly assault of 27-year-old Jacob Baldwin.
According to court documents, in the early morning hours of Oct. 12, 2024, Baldwin was involved in an altercation in Richmond's Scott's Addition. Rivera, who was reportedly the person Baldwin was fighting with, is accused of hitting him in the face or head, causing him to fall down onto the pavement.
Days later, on Oct. 16, 2024, Baldwin died at a local hospital as a result of the life-threatening head injury he sustained from that fall. Rivera then surrendered himself at the Richmond Police Department's headquarters on Oct. 19, 2024.
On Tuesday, the prosecution and the defense were able to call witnesses and present arguments to the judge presiding over Rivera's case.
Defense argues Rivera's charge should be reduced
The defense argued that the second-degree murder charge should be reduced to involuntary manslaughter.
Rivera's counsel claimed that there was no way to determine that a single punch from Rivera resulted in Baldwin's death. The defense indicated that Baldwin was over six feet tall and weighed over 200 pounds, while Rivera is five foot 9 inches tall and weighed about 145 pounds.
Additionally, the defense said both witnesses -- referred to as "Witness 1" and "Witness 2" -- did not see Rivera's swing connect to Baldwin's head. Witness 1 said he saw Rivera move to hit Baldwin but was looking down at his food when it would have landed, while Witness 2 was looking at his phone.
Finally, Rivera's counsel argued that, through Baldwin's autopsy, it could not be determined that the fractures to Baldwin's head were caused by Rivera's punch -- claiming that those involved lacked the appropriate medical knowledge to do so.
Prosecution hears from witnesses about what happened
The prosecution responded by calling both witnesses to the stand and asking them to speak on what they had seen that night.
Witness 1 told the court that he had attended the same wedding Baldwin had on Oct. 11, 2024. After the wedding, he and Baldwin went to the Hof Garden and En Su Boca for drinks. Witness 1 said he left En Su Boca, got pizza and then went to head home when he overheard the fighting.
According to Witness 1, he saw Rivera and Baldwin fighting each other. Once it was broken up, Witness 1 said he asked Baldwin to come over to him to try and de-escalate the situation. However, the group Rivera was with had Baldwin's jacket -- which came off during the fight -- as well as his phone. Witness 1 said he saw them throw these things back at Baldwin.
Witness 1 said he heard a woman with Rivera say something about how "he always messes things up." Soon after, he said he heard Baldwin say, "at least you don't hit your girl."
According to Witness 1, Rivera then charged at Baldwin, sidestepping Witness 1 to swing at him. He did not see the punch connect because he dropped his pizza at the same time and was looking down at it.
Witness 1 then called 911 and stayed with Baldwin until paramedics arrived.
The prosecution then called Witness 2, who said he was at River City Roll and En Su Boca that night. He interacted with Baldwin at the latter location.
According to Witness 2, he left En Su Boca to call an Uber and overheard yelling down the street. He walked towards Marshall Street and, once he arrived, saw Rivera and Baldwin fighting. He told the court he then pulled out his phone to record it.
Witness 2 said that he saw Rivera's shirt was off at one point during the fight and that he seemed agitated.
According to Witness 2, he stopped recording at one point because, according to him, it looked like "some drunk argument."
Witness 2 said he saw Baldwin stumbling towards Rivera's group and noted that he "looked hammered." Then, he looked down at his phone. It was while he was looking at his phone that he heard the friend he was with seemingly react to Baldwin being struck, but he did not see it, himself.
The judge's decision on Rivera's charge
Following these arguments, the judge said that it was their determination that Rivera acted with malice and, because of this, the second-degree murder charge would stand.
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Rivera's case has now been certified to a grand jury. That jury will meet on Monday, April 7 to decide on when the trial will take place.
