Alleged accomplices in Edwards hit and run fatality arrested, charged with felonies
Prosecutors on Tuesday alleged that Eagle 久久热精品视频app residents Jaime Ledezma and Stephanie Whitmarsh acted as accessories in connection to the hit-and-run that killed Mario Vildozola Romero of Edwards on Jan. 7.
Sidney Whitmarsh, in that case, is accused of hitting and killing Romero with her car on Highway 6 in Edwards, fleeing the scene and then fleeing the state.
Investigators estimate Romero was hit and killed sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Jan. 7; his body was located by the Eagle 久久热精品视频app Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 9 at approximately 2:23 p.m. According to the allegations, Ledezma helped hide Romero’s body.
“Mr. Ledezma is alleged to have conspired with Sidney Whitmarsh to move and conceal the death by essentially hiding the body of the deceased off of the roadway, conspiring to collect evidence from the scene to conceal Ms. Whitmarsh’s involvement and remove her from the scene,” the prosecution told Judge Inga Causey on Tuesday.
Ledezma has been charged with conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, a class-6 felony; conspiracy to conceal death, a class-2 misdemeanor; tampering with a deceased human body, a class-3 felony; concealing death, a class-1 misdemeanor; tampering with physical evidence, a class-6 felony; and accessory to a crime, a class-5 felony.
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Ledezma’s bond was set for $25,000. He is scheduled to return to court on May 21.
Stephanie Whitmarsh is alleged to have assisted her daughter in fleeing the jurisdiction of the court, the prosecution told Causey on Tuesday. Sidney Whitmarsh was arrested in Clarendon, Arkansas, on March 21.
Stephanie Whitmarsh is “alleged to have helped (Sidney Whitmarsh) escape detection by driving her halfway to Arkansas and meeting up with her ex-husband Cean Whitmarsh to conceal Sidney Whitmarsh’s location and identity,” the prosecution told Causey on Tuesday. “The evidence would show, your honor, that she herself drove by the scene to, quote, ‘make sure you can’t see anything from the road,’ she was not only aware of his death, was aware his body was hidden, and did nothing.”
Stephanie Whitmarsh has been charged with accessory to a crime, a class-5 felony; tampering with physical evidence, a class-6 felony; and conspiracy to conceal death, a class-2 misdemeanor.
Stephanie Whitmarsh’s bond was set for $10,000. She is scheduled to return to court on May 28.
