P.O. Box 4116 - Yuma, Arizona 85366-4116 ~ Telephone: 928-246-4856
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THE HISTORY
Amancio Corrales, a 23-year-old gay man who performed as a female impersonator under the name Dalila, is found brutally murdered and floating in the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona on May 6, 2005.
On Friday, May 27, 2005, The Amancio Project was borne to bring comfort to the family and address the circumstances surrounding this violent crime. Vigils were organized, anniversaries recognized; the Governor's office and state legislators call for action and national civil rights groups spread the word. Sadly, and shamefully, Yuma city or county representatives remain conspicuously silent.
Two years later the murder was declared a "cold case" by authorities while the assailant still walked the streets of Yuma, even though several people knew who it was but never come forward. On May 23, 2007, a suspect, Ruben Solorio-Valenzuela, was arrested and charged with second degree murder as the result of an anonymous tip prompted by the efforts of The Amancio Project. On May 31, 2007, the Yuma County Grand Jury indicts Valenzuela but reduces the charge to Reckless Manslaughter and Abandonment and Concealing a body. After a series of Trial Management Conferences - a little over a year - a plea bargain is arrived at.
On August 21, 2008, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of Yuma County, the Honorable Andrew W. Gould accepts the Plea Agreement arrived at in the case of the State of Arizona vs. Ruben Solorio-Valenzuela, for the murder of Amancio Corrales on May 6, 2005. Valenzuela is sentenced to eight years and nine months for Attempted Manslaughter with Aggravated Circumstances and ordered to pay restitution to the court and to the Corrales family. A sentence the family, The Project and the majority of Yuma's citizens found far too lenient for such a violent crime.
The focus of The Amancio Project is now turning its eyes toward bringing attention to all bias-based crimes as well as highlighting other serious crimes in Yuma County (murder and child molestation) in an effort to solve these crimes by keeping pressure on the authorities and keep them in the public eye.
Michael H. Baughman
928-246-4856