More time for plea deal in death of boy with Down syndrome

Modesto -- A defendant will get more time to consider a plea deal in a case in which he is accused of murder in the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy with Down syndrome three years ago in Modesto. Richard Maurice Jolly, 19, is accused of firing the gun that killed Eliazar Hernandez in the aftermath of a violent confrontation between two groups on Oct. 20, 2009, near Lombardo Avenue, just east of South Ninth Street and several blocks south of the Tuolumne River. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Marie Silveira on Friday scheduled Jolly to return to court Jan. 7. Jolly will either agree to a plea deal offer from the district attorney's office, or the judge will schedule the defendant's trial. Defense attorney Frank Carson told the judge there's still a chance both sides can agree to a plea deal, but Jolly's family might not be able to retain his legal services if the case moves to trial. The defendant remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail.