KINGMAN — A man who repeatedly stabbed and another man with a knife and beat him with a hammer in Kingman spoke of youthful hardship in Mexico during his October 1 sentencing hearing in Kingman.
Trinidad Meza, 23, spent 20 minutes or more telling meandering stories about being brutally beaten on a farm in 2019, his life being threatened and subsequent flight from assailants into the “woods” and “hillsides.”
The story had little relevance to the Kingman case, other than defense attorney Bob Heieck argued the experiences caused Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that he believed may have fueled some of the violence inflicted on June 16 in the 4700 block of Powell Avenue.
Witnesses told police investigators that Meza was angered by the way the victim was talking about him when their verbal argument escalated to the hammer clubbing and stabbing.
Deputy Mohave County attorney Amanda Claerhout said the victim lost multiple teeth and sustained facial fractures and multiple brain bleeds, in addition to being stabbed multiple times. “His body is changed forever because of it,” she said.
Meza faced 7-12 years in prison for the attempted second-degree murder conviction achieved through a plea agreement. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle imposed a 10.5-year prison sentence.
