A teenager accused of murdering an elderly Rio Rico man last August was arraigned Monday at Santa Cruz County Superior Court on two felony charges, but lawyers in the case said a trial was not likely to happen anytime soon.
The lawyer for Noel Devonn Stepney entered “not guilty” pleas on behalf of his client on two charges: second-degree murder, a Class 1 felony; and abandonment or concealment of a dead body, a Class 5 felony.
Stepney, now 17, was 16 at the time of the alleged offenses in August 2022. Arizona law requires that a juvenile 15 or older who is accused of certain offenses, including first- or second-degree murder, be prosecuted as an adult. As a result, Stepney’s case is being prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system.
The case was transferred to Superior Court in November 2022 following a probable cause determination at the justice court level. Court records show that Stepney was then given a so-called Rule 11 psychological evaluation before being arraigned on Monday.
“These are accusations or allegations; nothing has been proven,” Judge Thomas Fink told the defendant after citing the charges.
“You’re presumed innocent. You have the right to have a trial on these charges,” the judge told him, adding that Stepney has the right to be tried by a jury, which would have to return a unanimous verdict in order find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
It’s not clear, however, when a trial might begin. As defense lawyer Charles Spector told the judge: “This is a complex matter.”
“There’s a lot going on – numerous search warrants are involved in this case, thousands of pages of disclosure, numerous hours of audio and video in addition to potential and additional expert witnesses on our end, and more investigations that are going on not only on the defense side, but apparently on the state’s side as well,” he said.
Spector said he and Deputy County Attorney Caleb Wagner had discussed setting a two-week trial to begin Oct. 24, just for the sake of having something on the schedule. But he said he preferred holding a status conference in 90 days to see where things stand at that point.
“Mr. Spector doesn’t think that he’ll be ready by Oct. 24; I don’t know that we will be,” Wagner said.
In the end, Fink set a status conference for July 24, but did not put a trial date on the calendar.
A sheriff’s SWAT team arrested Stepney on Aug. 22, 2022 for allegedly killing 72-year-old Gabriel Guevara. He has remained in custody since then.
According to a news release issued by Sheriff David Hathaway at the time, a neighbor contacted the Sheriff’s Office on the morning of the arrest and expressed concern that they hadn’t seen Guevara in three days. Hathaway said his officers then determined that Stepney was in Guevara’s house on Anclar Court in northeast Rio Rico, but the teenager refused to exit.
The SWAT team then went into the home and reportedly found Stepney hiding in the attic.
Guevara’s body was found dumped down the side of a hill near the house, with a bag wrapped around his head, Hathaway said.
The cause of death was a gunshot wound, according to a sheriff’s office spokesman.
