WOODLAND — A November trial date for the six suspects in a Davis homicide was scrapped Friday after one of the defendants’ attorneys withdrew from the case.
Tim Pori cited an unspecified conflict between himself and client Anthony Rivera in asking to be replaced by another lawyer. Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg appointed Jim Granucci, a member of the county’s conflict attorney panel, to replace him.
Granucci’s fellow attorneys noted that he is on vacation until early October and will need time to get up to speed on the complex case, making the scheduled Nov. 7 trial date impossible to keep. Another lawyer, Ava Landers, also was recently appointed to the case and filed a trial continuance motion of her own.
Rosenberg agreed and vacated the date, along with Friday’s scheduled hearing on defense motions to dismiss the Yolo County grand jury indictment that charges Rivera and his five co-defendants — Carlos Biviescas, Martyn Contreras, Joseph Sandeno, Zackary Sandeno and Victor Vergara — with murder and criminal street-gang activity.
All six are accused of taking part in the deadly stabbing of Los Angeles college student Peter Gonzales, who was attacked on Sept. 19, 2015, inside the KetMoRee nightclub at Third and G streets in downtown Davis.
Gonzales, 23, had been in Davis to celebrate his sister’s wedding when the fatal altercation between his group and the defendants broke out inside the club. Davis police have said all six suspects are members of Norteño-affiliated street gangs in Vacaville.
Vergara, identified by authorities as the person who actually stabbed Gonzales, also faces several charging enhancements and special-circumstance allegations that, if proven, would send him to prison for life without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors have said they do not plan to pursue the death penalty.
The case is due back in court Nov. 4 for the hearing on the various motions and setting of a new trial date.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene