Escapee was serving life for sex assault
by Michael Kiefer and JJ Hensley - Feb. 18, 2009 12:49 PM


The inmate who escaped Maricopa County Sheriff's Office custody at the Superior courthouse on Tuesday was already serving a life sentence for sexual conduct with a minor. He has not yet been found.

Adrian Cruz Gonzalez, 28, was in court on charges of kidnapping, sexual conduct with a minor, sexual abuse and sexual assault when he slipped out of a holding room at the courthouse during the lunch break. Cruz was sentenced to life in prison in 2005 for impregnating his girlfriend's 9-year-old daughter.
But he was indicted again in 2008 when DNA evidence led to his involvement in two rapes in 2003; one of the victims was younger than 15.

If Cruz is convicted in his current trial, he could be sentenced to more than 20 more years in prison.

In July 2004, Cruz, who was on parole for burglary, was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

He drove an ice-cream truck, and took his girlfriend's daughter with him and had sex with her in the truck. He was arrested after the girl became pregnant. Because she was too young to carry the baby, she had an abortion.

In February 2005, Cruz pled guilty to one count of sexual conduct with a minor, which, because of the girl's young age, carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without chance of parole for 35 years. Cruz was in a holding area for a lunch recess on Tuesday and when deputies returned after lunch, Cruz was gone. Surveillance showed him leaving the building in civilian clothes.

The court building at 101 W. Jefferson St. was immediately placed on lockdown and evacuated as deputies searched for Cruz. Cruz is described as Hispanic male, 5-feet 5-inches tall, 170 pounds. He was wearing a white long sleeve button-down shirt, gray baggy pants with pinstripes and a black leather jacket.

Cruz's Department of Corrections records show he had an immigration hold, indicating that he was in the country illegally and due to be deported when his sentence was served.


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