The certification hearing on whether Zephi trevino will be tried as an adult will be held today.
Justin Moore is representing the Trevino family.
The focus of the story: 17-year-old Zephaniah “Zephi” Trevino and 19-year-old Philip Baldenegro. Both have been accused in the deadly shooting that happened in August 2019.
The young girl claims she isn’t guilty. Her family has said she was being sex trafficked by Baldenegro.
David Finn, Baldenegro’s attorney called the sex trafficking allegations a “smoke screen.”
Beyond The Certification Hearing
Beyond the certification hearing, Trevino’s case has attracted Hollywood attention from Jamie Lee Curtis, Demi Lovato, and now, Kim Kardashian West.
It has also attracted attention of political activists angry that Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot shared a Facebook post of another defense attorney stating why Trevino should be tried as an adult.
Zephi Trevino, is a Texas teen is accused of Capital Murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man that occurred when she was 16. Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot intends to charge her as an adult pending a January 4, 2021 hearing.
Her mother and other advocates, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Kim Kardashian West, say she is a victim of sex trafficking, not a killer.
Zephaniah Trevino, now 17, is one of three people charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of Carlos Arajeni-Arriaza Morillo, 24. He was killed in a Grand Prarie apartment in August 2019.
Murder victim Carlos Arajeni-Arriaza Morillo
Another defendant, Philip Baldenegro, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting Morillo and shooting and injuring another man as part of a robbery attempt. He and Jesse Martinez, then 19, are all charged in the case.
“She brought the guys to the apartment and set the whole thing up,” said Finn.
Zephi Trevino’s parents and Baldenegro’s attorney agree the men were there to have sex with Zephi, but Zephi’s parents claim Baldenegro was forcing their daughter to have sex for money.
Baldenegro’s attorney says his client admits he pulled the trigger, but he is not a pimp.
“She is no victim. My client Philip Baldenegro is 19 and I think she was 16 at the time. They had a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship that is born out on my client’s cellphone,” said Finn.
“She engineered, organized, executed the entire plan,” Finn said.
Murder suspects Philip Baldenegro and Jesse Martinez
Zephi Trevino Background
Zephaniah, or “Zephi” as she’s known to friends and family, was a typical teenager in her Grand Prairie, Texas community. Kind, outgoing, and the youngest of four siblings raised in a loving home, she was involved in activities from her church worship team to pitching for her high school softball team.
Trevino’s mom, Crystal Trevino, told local media her daughter was offered a plea deal that would give her 10 years in prison, but declined.
Crystal said her daughter played sports and was involved in her church before she fell in with the wrong crowd, saying the plight of her daughter Zephi Trevino is “a mother’s worst nightmare.”
Zephi Trevino Case
Crystal Trevino says her daughter was offered a ten year plea deal, which she declined. She faces up to 40 years in prison. Trevino’s case has caught the attention of numerous celebrities.
Civil rights lawyer Justin Moore is helping the family and helped get the attention of Jason Flom, a founding board member of The Innocence Project.
Flom says he thinks Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot should take a closer look at the case.
“On what planet does it make sense that we are going to charge her with capital murder? It’s a disastrously failed social policy,” Flom said.
The Innocence Project, has helped secure the release of hundreds of wrongfully convicted people.
Zephi Trevino, John Creuzot, and Dominque Alexander
The case also presents an interesting challenge for Creuzot.
Recently, former Chief of Police Reneé Hall was reported to be in an inappropriate relationship with convicted felon and local activist Dominique Alexander. The public report hastened Hall’s exit as police chief and her depature was announced less than twenty-four hours after the report.
Creuzot has not been seen out front on sex trafficking issues unlike the local US Attorney’s Office who recently arrested a local man for sex trafficking. Additionally, like Reneé Hall, Creuzot is known to be friendly with Dominque Alexander and there are multiple sources who indicate Creuzot made a nonprosecution with Alexander and Next Generation Action Network in return for not endangering his election campaign with Alexander’s activism in certain neighborhoods.
John Creuzot and his office are prohibited from speaking about the Trevino case, but he is noticable silent on relationships with both Alexander and Judge Audrey Moorehead, recently arrested for DWI.
