Napa Prosecutors Mum on Death Penalty in Madrigal Murder Case

Napa County prosecutors said Wednesday they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for Adrian Madrigal, a Napa-area transient accused of murdering 62-year-old Don Buffington of Napa on June 21.

Madrigal, 24, is suspected of stabbing Buffington, a retired laborers union representative, to death during a botched burglary attempt.

"We're not there yet," Napa County Chief Dep. District Attorney Paul Gero said Wednesday of the death penalty issue. Gero was present at Madrigal's third court appearance since being taken into custody.

Napa County Dep. District Attorney Fred Guttierez, who is taking over the Madrigal prosecution from Gero, also declined any comment on the possibility of a death penalty sentence, saying that discussion is to be sometime in the future.

The death penalty could be on the table because prosecutors on July 3 filed an amended complaint, adding two "special circumstances" to the existing charges against Madgrigal. The "special circumstances" amended complaint, which was accepted by the court, allows for the possibility that Madrigal, if convicted of the charges, could face a sentence of life without the possibility of parole or death.

On Wednesday, Napa County Superior Court Judge Francesca Tisher set a date of Aug. 6 for Madrigal, who appeared briefly in court, to enter a plea. She also released Madrigal's medical records to defense counsel Jess Raphael.

Raphael, Napa Count Chief Trial Dep. Public Defender, said he would review the records, which are from Madrigal's prior stints at Napa State Hospital and Napa County Department of Corrections.

Raphael restated that he still intended to file a motion to have Madrigal transferred from the Napa County Department of Corrections, where he is currently in custody, to a locked treatment ward at Napa State Hospital.

Gero said the timing for the decision on the death penalty would hinge on the progress of the case. If there is a trial, the decision would likely come sometime after the preliminary hearing and before the trial, he said.