WOODLAND — Trial proceedings for six Vacaville men indicted in connection with a fatal bar stabbing in downtown Davis got underway this week with a series of court hearings regarding the evidence that will make its way before the jury.
Carlos Biviescas, Martyn Contreras, Anthony Rivera, Joseph Sandeno, Zackary Sandeno and Victor Vergara all face murder, assault and criminal street-gang charges stemming from the Sept. 19, 2015, death of college student Peter Gonzales at the KetMoRee nightclub at Third and G streets.
Peter Alexander Gonzales, 23, a student at Fullerton College, was stabbed to death in September 2015 in downtown Davis. Courtesy photo
Gonzales, 23, died from a stab wound he suffered during a brief melee involving the defendants and Gonzales’ group of family and friends, who were in town to celebrate Gonzales’ sister’s wedding.
Prosecutors have alleged that Vergara, 24, delivered the fatal injury, while the others are equally culpable for Gonzales’ death because it was a natural and probable consequence to acting as aiders and abettors during the fight.
All six defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Jan. 3 and likely will take several weeks in order to find a panel able to sit through a trial that’s expected to extend into May.
Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg this week waded through dozens of pretrial motions filed by attorneys in the case, including defense bids to sever their clients’ cases from one another and to bifurcate, or try separately, the gang allegations that accompany the murder charge.
Defense attorneys claim the deadly stabbing was not a gang-related crime — that despite their documented gang affiliations, they were at KetMoRee to attend a birthday party and became involved in the fight only after an intoxicated member of the wedding group behaved “obnoxiously and offensively” toward one of the defendants’ female friends.
“This is a case in which that particular event triggers the entire thing,” said Rod Beede, who represents Joseph Sandeno.
But prosecutor Garrett Hamilton said it’s the gang evidence that sheds light on what he called the defendants’ “culture of violence,” exhibited in this matter by their swift and escalated reaction to being disrespected at the nightclub.
“It can go from a hard look to a fistfight to a homicide, because that’s the way gangs are,” Hamilton said. “This case is a classic example of it.”
Rosenberg ultimately denied both the severance and bifurcation motions, noting that the law favors jointly trying defendants who are charged with the same crimes. The gang evidence, he added, is crucial to the prosecution’s theory of motive and intent.
“I find that the prejudicial nature of the gang allegations does not substantially outweigh the probative value of the evidence,” Rosenberg said. “And frankly, if I were to prohibit the district attorney from presenting gang evidence in this case, I would effectively gut their case.”
The defense did prevail in their motions to exclude expert testimony regarding gang behaviors in state prison settings, which they argued would unduly prejudice their clients.
“There is a huge difference between being a street-level Norteño and a prison gang member,” said Jeff Raven, Biviescas’ defense lawyer. Rosenberg agreed it’s “too far removed from the street.”
Meanwhile, three of the defendants face additional charges stemming from a reported attack on another inmate earlier this week inside the Yolo County Jail.
According to Yolo County sheriff’s Sgt. Matt Davis, Rivera, Vergara and Joseph Sandeno assaulted the inmate shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in their housing pod.
“The inmate sustained injuries that required medical treatment,” resulting in the trio’s arrests on suspicion of felony battery causing serious bodily injury, Davis said. “The motivation for the assault is under investigation.”
An arraignment on the new charges is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene