Putnam County Murder Case Doesn’t Meet Double Jeopardy Standards

4/20/17 – 5:25 A.M.

Double jeopardy won’t apply to the case of a man accused of killing a child in Putnam County more than a decade ago. The Putnam County Sentinel reports Judge Randall Basinger denied a motion in Travis Soto’s case last week. Basinger said information provided by Soto in 2006 was consistent with an accidental death. At the time Soto said he accidentally ran over 2-year-old Julio Soto-Baldoza while riding an ATV.

However, Soto allegedly told deputies he had a more direct role in the child’s death last July. Soto reportedly admitted to beating his son to death and staging the ATV accident.

Soto served five years in prison for felony child endangering. His lawyer had argued new charges in the case amounted to double jeopardy.

MORE: Putnam County Sentinel