Jury selection continues for Gustine man charged of murdering infant son

Jury selection is underway for the trial of a 27-year-old Merced County man accused of murder and child cruelty in the 2015 death of his infant son before Judge Ronald Hansen.

Andrew Sanchez appeared in court on Tuesday with his defense attorney Stephanie Jamieson, a Merced County deputy public defender.

Sanchez was charged with murder and child cruelty in July 2015, days after he was arrested by Merced County Sheriff’s Office detectives. Sanchez is accused of killing his 9-month-old son, Maddix Ramsour, on March 5, 2015, at a home in the 30000 block of Cottonwood Road in Gustine.

Sheriff’s deputies said autopsy results concluded the child died of blunt force trauma.

Hansen reminded prospective jurors on Tuesday that their job was to look at the evidence and decide if the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Sanchez committed the crime.

“When you come to court, everyone has a background and their opinion,” he said. “That’s not unusual. But what we really want is for jurors to be able to exercise reason.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Harold Nutt and Deputy District Attorney Sara Rosenthal are prosecuting the case.

Opening statements in the case could come later this week.

This story was originally published March 28, 2017 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Jury selection continues for Gustine man charged of murdering infant son."