Christmas Eve Beating Defendant Rejects Plea

This story was published Tuesday, Dec. 17 but has been updated since then.

A man accused of throwing a deadly punch in a fight last Christmas Eve in downtown Easton has rejected a plea bargain, according to published reports.

Antonio Ortiz, 34, of the 400 block of Northampton Street, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Andres Ruiz-Avelizapa.

Police say a fight between the two men on Northampton Street last Dec. 24 led to Ruiz-Avelizapa, 52, being knocked out. He never regained consciousness, and died after being taken off life support in January.

On Tuesday, Ortiz rejected a deal with Northampton County prosecutors that would have had him plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter, The Express-Times reported. That means Ortiz could go to trial early next month.

According to the Morning Call, Ortiz won a victory in court this week, with a judge ruling that his statement to police after his arrest could be suppressed.

Police have given this account of what happened:

Officers responded to the 400 block of Northampton Street just before 1 a.m. Dec. 24 after getting a report that one man had knocked another man unconscious.

They found a man -- late identified as Ruiz-Avelizapa -- on the ground, bleeding from his head. He was taken to Easton Hospital, where doctors determined he had sustained serious injuries.

A witness, Jesse Atkinson, told police he had seen an argument between Ortiz and a woman, and saw Ruiz-Avelizapa come in contact with them.

Ortiz allegedly swung two punches at Ruiz-Avelizapa, who fell to the ground and hit his head on the curb, sustaining the injury that would ultimately kill him.

Police say Ortiz initially said he had no contact with Ruiz-Avelizapa, but later told investigators Ruiz-Avelizapa had pushed him, and that Ortiz had pushed back.