WOODLAND — A Woodland man arrested in connection with a shooting homicide last week appeared in court Friday, only to learn that the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office had declined to prosecute him.
“The DA … will not be filing charges in this case,” visiting Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock told 30-year-old Ernesto Jose Loza.
However, Mock informed Loza he would remain in jail custody for the time being to fulfill a 30-day sentence for driving on a suspended license for which he had failed to surrender.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven declined to comment at length Friday about his office’s decision or say whether prosecutors are seeking more evidence against Loza, whom police suspected of playing a role in the death of Geovanny Yabet Gomez.
“The investigation is ongoing, and to date charges have not been filed,” Raven said.
Prosecutors continue to pursue their case against Loza’s brother, Alejandro Loza Quezada, who faces murder, attempted murder, weapon and criminal street-gang charges that make him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Quezada, 33, pleaded not guilty to the allegations last week and is due back in court July 27 for a preliminary hearing.
Authorities say Quezada was involved in a July 1 vehicle chase and shootout that killed Gomez, 35, who died of multiple gunshot wounds after being dropped off at the Woodland Memorial Hospital emergency room. A passenger in Gomez’s vehicle was injured in the shooting.
Officers arrested Quezada, a former Davis resident, a week later after tracking him down at a Woodland apartment complex, taking him into custody when he reportedly jumped from a second-story balcony.
He is being held without bail at the Yolo County Jail.
Police have not said whether Gomez’s death is somehow related to another shooting homicide on Community Lane that occurred two days earlier, claiming the life of 31-year-old Arnulfo Bermudez Jr. No arrests have been made in that case.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene