Grand jury returns indictment on charge of second-degree murder

A Floyd County Grand Jury Monday indicted an illegal Mexican immigrant on charges of second-degree murder from the Aug. 24 fight in Grays Lane Trailer Court that resulted in the death of 49-year-old Stephen Futchko.

Futchko, a handyman who lived and worked at the trailer park, died at an area hospital after the fight with Antonio Rueda, a 25-year-old immigrant who lived at the park.

At a preliminary hearing Thursday, Medical Examiner Dr. Christina Roberts said Futchko died from injuries sustained in the fight but her conclusion was challenged by defense attorney Jonathan Rogers who asked if Futchko’s weight and bad health could have contributed to the death.

Roberts admitted contributing factors could have existed. Futchko was overweight, and an autopsy showed clogged arteries and a .24 blood alcohol content – three times the legal limit.

Investigator Brian Craig, in testimony at the preliminary hearing, said Rueda said he was tired of Futchko’s constant threats to “kill Mexicans” and had had enough.

Roberts testified that Futchko suffered a broken nose, broken cheekbones and other injuries in the fight.

Rogers also challenged Rueda’s statement to Craig and a Spanish translator from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, saying his client did not understand the rights that were read to him in Spanish or the Miranda warning waiver, also in Spanish.

“There is no evidence this man understood his rights, and without that we don’t have a case,” Rogers told the court.

General District Court Judge Thomas Frith, filling in for Judge Ed Turner – whose term was set to expire the next day – overruled most of Rogers’ arguments and certified the Rueda case to the grand jury.

Rueda has been in the New River Valley Regional Jail since the fight last August, and the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal authorities have a hold order on him.

The deputy who translated for Craig during the interview with Reuda was not present in court.