By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Juan L. Diaz, the man accused in the June 25, 2008 shooting death of Mayra Cruz of Pawtucket, was indicted for the crime by a grand jury on Monday.

On Friday, the Providence County Grand Jury handed up an indictment naming the 25-year-old Diaz on one count of murder and one count of using and discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence.
 It is alleged that Diaz murdered Cruz on or about June 25, and that while committing a crime of violence, discharged the firearm, resulting in Cruz’ death.
The alleged incidents occurred in Pawtucket and Pawtucket Police conducted the investigation.
On Monday morning, Diaz, whose address is listed as 77 Knight St., Providence, appeared before Judge Robert B. Krause, where he pleaded not guilty.
He was ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institution pending his next court date, a pre-trial conference on Feb. 16, according to Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the office of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch.
Cruz, who was 26 at the time of her death, had lived with her young daughter in the Galego Court Housing complex and was taking classes to become a secretary, according to one family member.
According to previous police reports, she had been involved in an on-and-off relationship with Diaz that was known to have sometimes been violent.
On the night of June 25, Cruz was found lying dead in the basement apartment of a house at 14 Reservoir Avenue where Diaz had been staying. She had apparently driven there to visit Diaz, and her car was found parked outside. The state medical examiner ruled that she had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.
Police and rescue personnel had responded after a 911 call came in from a man, alleged to be Diaz, who said he had accidentally shot his girlfriend in the face during a struggle. In the initial police report, the male caller said the mishap had occurred hours earlier and that he had tended to the victim’s wounds throughout the night. However, he told the 911 dispatcher that the victim had begun to vomit blood and had stopped breathing. He became hysterical and had hung up, according to the dispatcher’s log.
Diaz had fled before police arrived but he was arrested the next day in Albany, New York, where police had traced him to some relatives.
According to police and court records, Cruz and Diaz had been involved in a turbulent relationship in the months preceding her death. In January, Diaz had been charged with breaking into Cruz’s apartment, assaulting her for several hours, and ripping her phone out of the wall. He had fled the scene but several days later was later involved in a traffic accident on School Street while driving a car that belonged to Cruz’s sister and was then arrested on the other charges.
In late February, Diaz was charged in another complaint with domestic simple assault, domestic vandalism and violation of a no-contact order. A bench warrant from Providence District Court for failure to appear for a home confinement review was issued on February 29 for Diaz, stemming from this incident. Later, on June 12, a Superior Court bench warrant for failure to appear for arraignment on the domestic charges was also issued.
According to Pawtucket Police, Cruz had also been in contact with a domestic violence counselor and had reportedly taken steps to seek a permanent restraining order against Diaz.
In the wake of Cruz’ death, a candlelight vigil sponsored by the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center was held at the Galego Court Soccer Field in her memory to call attention to the problem of domestic violence.