More details have emerged about the early New Year’s morning shooting of a Salem juvenile as Marion County State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth presents his probable cause statement in Marion County Court on Tuesday.
Hudspeth says evidence shows Diego Barradas of South Brookside shot the girl in the abdomen as she was laying on a couch as he was trying to get her to perform a sex act on another man in the home at 1337 North Trenary.
Hudspeth says Barradas had placed the gun under the blanket before the shot was fired. He then backed away and reportedly asked the girl if she fired the gun, even though her hands were nowhere near the weapon. She rolled onto the floor after realizing she had been shot and Barradas ran from the house. He was arrested a short time later following a traffic stop.
Hudspeth said there was video recording of what was happening in the room which shows Barradas pulling out the gun, waiving it around, and threatening to shoot someone and then himself.
The juvenile girl was initially taken to Salem Township Hospital and then airlifted to a St. Louis Hospital. Hudspeth said she was later released and also gave police a statement about the shooting.
In seeking to have Barradas released without bond under the new pre-trial release law, Public Defender Craig Griffin noted Barradas was intoxicated and he questioned if he even realized he had shot the girl. However, Hudspeth argued any conditions the court could place on Barradas’ release, including not possessing a weapon or drinking alcohol, were in place that night as part of the terms of Barradas’ probation on a prior sex case. Judge Stedelin agreed Barradas’ release would be a danger to the community and the victim.
Barradas had the public defender appointed to represent him with a preliminary hearing set for January 30th.
Court records show Barradas is currently on two years probation in Marion County for non consensual dissemination of a sex image as well as two years probation in Fayette County on a conviction for felony criminal damage to government property.
