WOODLAND — The sixth suspect to be arrested in connection with a Davis homicide made his initial court appearance Wednesday after spending more than two months on the run from authorities.
Joseph Gregory Sandeno, 20, told Yolo Superior Court Commissioner Kent O’Mara he could not afford to hire his own attorney and requested a court-appointed lawyer to represent him.
That duty will go to one of Yolo County’s conflict attorneys, as the Public Defender’s Office already represents Sandeno’s older brother, Zackary Sandeno, in the high-profile murder case.
Defense attorney Ava Landers, who accepted the case Wednesday on the conflict panel’s behalf, initially entered a not-guilty plea for Joseph Sandeno but then asked that the arraignment be continued until Friday so that a lawyer can formally be assigned to the matter.
The charges in the case stem from the Sept. 19 stabbing death of Los Angeles college student Peter Alexander Gonzales, 23, who was killed during an altercation at the KetMoRee nightclub at Third and G streets.
One of the first suspects to be named by police, Joseph Sandeno eluded authorities for 10 weeks until his arrest early Saturday morning in Vacaville, where a resident called police to report a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood. Sandeno was one of two people inside the car, from which police also reported seizing narcotics and a small-caliber handgun.
Police say the Sandeno brothers and their four co-defendants — Carlos Biviescas, Martyn Contreras, Anthony Rivera and Victor Vergara — are members of Norteño-affiliated street gangs in Vacaville. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for the week of Feb. 8.
O’Mara granted a prosecution motion Wednesday to amend the complaint in the case, adding Joseph Sandeno’s name to the charging document.
All six defendants remain on no-bail holds at the Yolo County Jail.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene