This article is courtesy of New Haven Register published on January 5,2011: www.newhavenregister.com

NEW HAVEN — The attorney for a man charged with manslaughter and sexual assault is seeking to have the charges dismissed on statute of limitations grounds because the alleged offenses occurred in 1994 and 1995.

The defendant, Antolin Henriquez, who is charged in the death of Mariano Serrano in July 1995, was in Superior Court Tuesday for a hearing on the motion. The hearing was continued to Jan. 19.

Henriquez, 50, a former New Haven resident, also is charged with three counts of risk of injury to a child and three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, involving alleged conduct with three girls in December 1994.

He faces a second-degree manslaughter charge in connection with a fight he had with Serrano, 32, outside the Santa Isabel Social Club at 569 Columbus Ave. Serrano suffered a brain hemorrhage and skull fracture when he fell to the ground after being punched. He died three days later.

Defense attorney Christopher Duby argued in his motion that prosecution on the charges did not begin within the five-year time frame mandated by law.

Duby said the statute of limitations is designed to prevent a defendant from being prosecuted “when, due to a passage of time, he is unable to adequately prepare for trial.”

But Supervisory Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Robert J. O’Brien said prosecution begins when an arrest warrant is signed and the arrest itself is not required within the five years. O’Brien said the manslaughter warrant was signed in September 1995 and the sexual assault and risk of injury warrant was signed in October 1995.

O’Brien asserted Henriquez was not arrested until August 2009 because he was living out of state and could not be found for a long period.

New Haven police spokesman Officer Joe Avery has said Henriquez apparently got into legal trouble in New Jersey, where he lived after leaving New Haven. When Henriquez traveled to Puerto Rico from New Jersey, he was detained by authorities who discovered he was using a fraudulent passport.

After they learned his true identity, authorities in Puerto Rico discovered the New Haven warrant and he was returned to Connecticut to be arrested. He has been held in lieu of $110,000 bail.

Henriquez was in court for Tuesday afternoon’s hearing.

Duby called to the witness stand John Brenner, a private investigator who testified he went door-to-door in the Columbus Avenue neighborhood two months ago but was unable to find any of the witnesses to the alleged manslaughter.

Brenner said the former social club now appears to be an empty garage.

Brenner said he also sought witnesses to all of the charges involving Henriquez through computer searches, but that, too, was unsuccessful.

Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue continued the hearing to Jan. 19 because O’Brien needs to produce witnesses, likely to include New Haven police officers, who will testify about serving the warrants and talk about Henriquez’ whereabouts.

Before adjourning the hearing, Blue told both attorneys, “I don’t have any evidence as to what the defendant was doing from 1995-2009. It would be very helpful to know what he was up to during those 14 years.”