Derek Runnion murder suspects back in court

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The man and woman accused of torturing and murdering a Yuma man were back in court Thursday morning. A judge formally charged both suspects. This just days after law enforcement arrested both of them.

YPD arrested 28-year-old Erick Chavez Monday. Days before, U.S. Marshals arrested 22-year-old Janissa Jones. The two were charged with serious felony offenses including first-degree murder.

The state prosecutor accused both suspects of stabbing and shooting 31-year-old Derek Runnion before allegedly deciding to burn his body. Runnion’s car was also set on fire.

Thursday in court, the state continued to push for no bond for Chavez because of his previous encounters with law enforcement.

“Three prior felony convictions, two of which he went to prison for one of which he was on probation for which led to a violation of probation him getting caught, leading to the filing of one new case of possession of your product drugs for sale. He also has an additional three active cases so that's currently four active cases, and he has another two pending felony cases. This defendant is a danger to the community, and he has a flight risk,” said Meaghan Gallagher, the state prosecutor.

Back in March, Yuma police say Runnion was going to meet someone to fix his car at Walmart. He was supposed to return the next morning but never came back. His body was found decomposed in California.

As far as Janissa Jones, the prosecutor demanded that her bond remains at 500 thousand dollars to which the judge agreed.

Both she and Chavez will be back in court on July 9th. Erick Chavez entered a not-guilty plea ahead of the next appearance based on conversations between the judge and defense attorney.