Lake Superior Gina Jones denied a man’s bid for release Thursday – saying he fled to Texas shortly after he was charged without her permission.
Ariel Ginjauma, 45, of Hillside, Illinois, and formerly Hobart, is charged in Crown Point with shooting at his estranged wife Evelyn Ginjauma in November 2023, after she was acquitted that day of stabbing his female business partner.
He skipped bail about a week later. The U.S. Marshals arrested him in May 2024 in El Paso.
His lawyers Maryam Afshar-Stewart and Mark Gruenhagen, who is representing him in a different case, argued Hobart Police were taking too long to turn over discovery, i.e. evidence, to her for the attempted murder case.
Jones had lawyers approach her bench, signaling her effort to usher it along.
Afshar-Stewart told Jones that Ginjauma was in El Paso for medical treatment and there was a miscommunication with his previous lawyer, who didn’t file anything in court.
Jones said she wasn’t likely to release him but would hear their arguments.
“I don’t see any motivation to allow that to happen again,” she said.
Ginjauma’s current girlfriend said he would stay with her, while a friend said he had a job waiting for him.
Afshar-Stewart asked for him to be placed on home detention or GPS monitoring.
Deputy Prosecutor C.J. Washington argued Ginjauma was a “flight risk” and a “threat” who ignored the court’s orders.
Jones denied Afshar-Stewart’s bid and told her to not “wait to the last minute” to ask for the discovery she needed.
A trial is set in July.
Hobart Police responded at 4:25 p.m. Nov. 14, 2023, to a home on the 1000 block of Lake View Drive.
A criminal affidavit alleged Ginjauma pushed into their home and pointed a gun at a 15-year-old girl at the top of the stairs. After the girl bolted to a bathroom, he fired a shot in the house. Ginjauma then chased Evelyn Ginjauma down the driveway, while she ran screaming and started to open fire. It was captured on a doorbell camera. No one was hurt.
mcolias@post-trib.com
