Plea deal nearly reached with man charged with murdering man, burying remains

11-9-2013 California:

Prosecutors are close to reaching a plea deal with a defendant accused of killing his friend and burying the body in order to collect the man's Indian tribal reservation checks.

Prosecutor Ken Green said in court Wednesday that he and defendant Frank Jude Valles have come to terms on how many years Valles will serve, but are still working out the exact charges he'll plead to. Green said he believes they'll have an agreement by the next court hearing on Nov. 15.

Valles was open to the deal, Green said afterward, because he wanted a determinate sentence, not the potential 25 years to life he faced if convicted of murder. The prosecutor said he could not reveal the number of years agreed to until the plea deal is complete.

Valles, 46, was arrested in August 2012 after investigators dug up human remains in two Bakersfield locations. The remains were determined to be those of Alphonso John Hyde, who had lived with Valles and his wife, Consuelo.

Family members of Hyde said they hadn't heard from him in four years. They filed a missing persons report in early August 2012.

Police reports say Valles had power of attorney over Hyde, and it's estimated he took more than $600,000 from Hyde by cashing his monthly tribal reservation checks. Hyde was receiving between $10,000 to $20,000 in each monthly check.

It remains unclear when, where and how Hyde, a convicted sex offender, was killed.

The mystery first came to light after Consuelo Valles contacted police Aug. 14, 2012. She suspected her husband was cheating on her and placed a digital recorder on top of a kitchen cabinet at their home in the 5900 block of Grass Creek Drive.

The recorder captured a conversation in which Frank Valles offered his gardener thousands of dollars to help move a body. The gardener told police that Valles confessed to killing a man and burying him in his yard.

The gardener told investigators a "foul odor" came from the hole as he and Valles dug up the body, police said. He said the skull was still on the body and there was still flesh attached.

Police reports say Valles and the gardener bought bags of manure at Home Depot to help cover the smell of the body, which they loaded in the bed of Valles' pickup and drove to his ranch. A 6-foot hole was already prepared.

Police found Hyde's remains buried in the yard at the Grass Creek home and in a yard in the 200 block of Curnow Road.

Court records show Valles was sentenced in October 1995 to eight years, eight months in prison for drug possession, grand theft auto and trying to escape from Lerdo Jail while in custody for those charges.

In March 1990, Valles pleaded no contest to first-degree burglary and was sentenced to two years in prison, court records say. A year later, he pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without the owner's consent and received a three-year sentence. ..Source.. by JASON KOTOWSKI

---

Man who killed friend, buried body agrees to serve 38 years

11-14-2013 California:

This is how Frank Jude Valles tells it:

He and Alphonso John Hyde were fast friends. Hyde lived with Valles and his wife and even gave Valles power of attorney over him.

Valles didn't tell the authorities when Hyde died of a heart attack, instead deciding to honor his Native American friend the best way he knew how: He buried Hyde's body in his yard.

To complete the ritual, he dug the body up four years later and planned to burn it. But a suspicious wife ended up ruining his plans.

That's the story Valles gave prosecutors. But faced with 25 years to life in prison if convicted of Hyde's murder, Valles decided to plead guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter and 12 counts of grand theft.

He's agreed to serve a 38-year sentence.

Prosecutor Ken Green said Valles was open to the plea deal because he wanted a determinate sentence. He wanted a definite release date on which to set his hopes.

Green said Valles is a complicated person.

"He seemed to genuinely care for the victim, which I thought was unusual," he said.

Police have said Valles, 46, killed Hyde and then buried his body in order to collect Hyde's Indian tribal reservation checks. He received between $10,000 to $20,000 in each monthly check.

As part of the plea deal, Valles has agreed to pay restitution of $600,000 to Hyde's relatives. It remains unclear exactly when, where and how Hyde, a convicted sex offender, was killed.

The case came to light in August 2012 after Valles' wife, Consuelo, contacted police. She had placed a digital recorder on top of a kitchen cabinet at their home in the 5900 block of Grass Creek Drive in southwest Bakersfield because she suspected her husband was cheating on her.

The recorder captured a conversation between Valles and his gardener, according to police. In it, he offers the gardener thousands of dollars to help move a body.

The gardener later told police that Valles confessed to killing a man and burying him in his yard.

The gardener told police he and Valles dug up the body, which still had the skull and some flesh attached to it. They bought bags of manure at Home Depot to help cover up the body's smell, and then loaded the body in the bed of Valles' pickup and drove to his ranch.

A 6-foot hole had already been prepared.

Police found Hyde's remains in the yard at the Grass Creek home and also in a yard in the 200 block of Curnow Road, in south Bakersfield. Family members of Hyde told police in August 2012 that they hadn't heard from him in four years.

Valles has previously served prison time. He was sentenced to eight years, eight months in October 1995 for drug possession, grand theft auto and trying to escape from Lerdo Jail while in custody on those charges.

In March 1990, Valles pleaded no contest to first-degree burglary and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to court records. The following year, he pleaded to taking a vehicle without the owner's consent and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 17. ..Source.. by JASON KOTOWSKI