WOODLAND — Attorneys’ conflicting schedules have pushed back the trial date again for six men accused of murder, assault and criminal street-gang activity in connection with a fatal stabbing in downtown Davis.
The trial is now expected to begin Jan. 2, 2018.
Vacaville residents Carlos Biviescas, Martyn Contreras, Anthony Rivera, Joseph Sandeno, Zackary Sandeno and Victor Vergara were indicted by the Yolo County grand jury last year for their alleged roles in the Sept. 19, 2015, attack that killed Los Angeles college student Peter Gonzales, 23, at the KetMoRee nightclub at Third and G streets.
Prosecutors contend Vergara stabbed Gonzales during a confrontation on the dance floor, while the others aided and abetted him as fellow members of their Norteño street gang. All have pleaded not guilty.
Trial proceedings were expected to begin on Aug. 14, but two of the seven attorneys representing the defendants are embroiled in a lengthy burglary trial that’s expected to conclude around that time, leaving them with little opportunity to prepare for what’s expected to be a three- to four-month trial in the homicide case.
Other defense lawyers reported having trials and other obligations scheduled for the fall, leaving January as their earliest opportunity to begin picking a jury.
That didn’t sit well with the case’s prosecutor, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Garrett Hamilton, who has filed a motion arguing his office’s right to a speedy trial in the case.
“I don’t want to put this case out to January,” Hamilton said during a hearing Monday in Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg’s courtroom. “We want this case to start as soon as reasonably possible.”
At one point, Rosenberg asked whether any efforts had been made to resolve any of the six cases with plea deals, to which defense lawyers replied that there had been discussions, but no offers.
Rosenberg invited the attorneys to meet with him in his chambers, and they emerged about 15 minutes later with no further developments.
“There will be no resolution today, but I encourage the parties to continue having conversations,” Rosenberg said.
With that, the judge set a three-phase schedule for the trial, with pretrial motions and other legal issues being argued in early December, followed by the beginning stages of jury selection if time allows before the holidays, when the court adopts a minimized schedule for staff training.
Once the trial begins, proceedings will be held Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off to allow the attorneys time to handle their other caseloads.
Rosenberg also ordered monthly status conferences leading up to the trial date to ensure the case remains on track, the first scheduled for Aug. 11.
Observing Monday’s proceedings were several of the defendants’ families, as well as the victim’s father, Henry Gonzales. His uncle, former California Supreme Court justice and civil-rights attorney Cruz Reynoso, accompanied him to lend support.
After seeing the trial delayed several times, Gonzales said he’s not optimistic that the current schedule will stick.
“I just want to see some results,” Gonzales said, adding that he also opposes the idea of offering plea deals to defendants accused of playing lesser roles in the homicide.
“I want to see all of them on trial,” he said. “They acted as one, they should be charged as one. That’s how I feel about it.”
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene