Guilty plea made after charge of killing fetus is dropped

Erica D. Johnson

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 9:57 a.m.

A Las Vegas man charged with stabbing his girlfriend in the stomach and killing her unborn child pleaded guilty to lesser charges on Thursday in a case his attorney says could have changed Nevada law. Jesus Sosa Villagomez, 35, pleaded guilty to a single count of attempted murder in the October 2002 attack that wounded Flora Solorio and killed the baby she was carrying.

Villagomez will receive a stipulated sentence of seven to 18 years in prison when he is sentenced before District Judge Valorie Vega on June 26.

In exchange for Villagomez's guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a single count of manslaughter of an unborn "quick" child with use of a deadly weapon.

The term "quick child" refers to the point when a mother can feel movement in the uterus.

That charge alone would have garnered a one- to eight-year sentence, Deputy District Attorney Ravi Bawa said.

The guilty plea came the same day defense attorney Frank Kocka was expected to argue to have the charges against his client dismissed.

While the manslaughter charge is now moot, Kocka said, the statute Villagomez was charged under is rare and the case could have been significant had it gone to trial.

"It's a very interesting issue and a very novel issue," he said. "Had it gone forward, it could have changed Nevada law."

Authorities claim Villagomez repeatedly stabbed Solorio in the stomach and back during a domestic dispute at an apartment in the 3500 block of Swenson Street.

Solorio was 18 weeks pregnant at the time.

According to Nevada statute, a person who willfully kills an unborn quick child by an injury committed upon the mother of the child commits manslaughter.

The case was watched closely by abortion activists and opponents who used the statute to further their debate on when a fetus is considered a human being.

Neither Bawa nor Kocka would comment on the implications of the case on Thursday.

"I'd rather not comment until after the sentencing," Bawa said. "As of now, the case is still open."

But Kocka said he was prepared to argue on Thursday that the statute Villagomez was charged under is ambiguous and vague, and is therefore, unconstitutional.

He said Nevada statute does not specifically define a quick child. Prosecutors relied on a dictionary definition.

Kocka, who has been an attorney for 16 years, said he'd never heard of the law before Villagomez's case and that different definitions of the terms are used in various states.

"There is no definition and there are no legislative guidelines," he said. "That was the basis for our motion. At what point does the person accused know the issue they are being prosecuted under?"

The couple had broken off their relationship and had recently reunited when Solorio told Villagomez she was pregnant with his child, according to court records.

Police said Villagomez did not believe the baby was his.

Villagomez, who had a single stab wound on his chest, allegedly told police that Solorio had attacked him and then stabbed herself.

Bawa said Thursday that he had spoken with Solorio and that she was satisfied with Villagomez's plea agreement.