Court officials often see unusual, and sometimes amusing, behavior from the defendants who come before them.
But an incident Tuesday, in which a Vancouver man allegedly walked out on his own trial, was a particularly odd situation for the judge and deputy prosecutor.
“That was the first time I’ve ever had a defendant leave during a trial,” Deputy Prosecutor Aaron Bartlett said. “We didn’t actually get to start the trial, because the jury didn’t get sworn in.”
Twenty-year-old Adrian Ruiz — who was out of custody — was set to be tried in Clark County Superior Court on one count of first-degree robbery and two counts of bail jumping, originally stemming from an incident in 2015.
He is accused of robbing a then-17-year-old boy of an airsoft rifle during a toy gun sale gone wrong. Ruiz, who was 18 at the time, allegedly pointed a plastic gun at the teen’s head and took the airsoft rifle and $40, according to court records.
On Tuesday, Ruiz was supposed to show up for his two-day trial at 9 a.m. but was about a half-hour late, Bartlett said. Instead of going straight into jury selection once he arrived, the attorneys addressed some pre-trial motions.
Bartlett said that by about 11 a.m., the court was ready to bring jurors in for vetting but first took a five-minute recess. Ruiz reportedly left the courtroom during the break and never returned.
And he left his mother behind in the courtroom, Bartlett said.
The court waited until the noon hour to see if Ruiz would return, and his attorney and mother tried to contact him, Bartlett said. But he didn’t come back.
Judge Derek Vanderwood issued a warrant for Ruiz’s arrest when the court reconvened after the lunch hour, and he had still not returned.
Ruiz was already facing two counts of bail jumping for allegedly missing two trial readiness hearings in June 2016 and March 2017, Bartlett said. Each time, his release was revoked and bail was increased. Court records show his bail was set at $110,000 in April.
Ruiz also has two other pending cases: a 2017 case for second-degree robbery and resisting arrest and 2016 case for two counts of theft of a motor vehicle.
Detectives did not find Ruiz at his last known address, Bartlett said.
Efforts to reach his defense attorney, Sean Downs, were unsuccessful Wednesday.
