WOODLAND — A preliminary hearing for the five defendants in a downtown Davis homicide may be delayed next week.
Scheduled for Monday, the hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the suspects to stand trial for the Sept. 19 stabbing death of Peter Alexander Gonzales, 23, at the KetMoRee nightclub at Third and G streets.
But attorneys for the defendants who gathered in Yolo Superior Court on Tuesday said they have yet to receive any police reports or other evidence regarding the incident, and therefore may not be ready to proceed with the hearing.
“We are prepared to come back on Monday and see how much evidence we have,” said Vincent Maher, who represents 25-year-old Martyn Alex Contreras in the case.
Contreras and four other suspects — Carlos Biviescas, 24; Anthony Daniel Rivera, 25; Zackary Thomas Sandeno, 21; and Victor Manuel Vergara, 22 — have pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and criminal street-gang activity.
Davis police have said the defendants are members of a Vacaville-based Norteño street gang and were acting in that capacity during the stabbing, which occurred as Gonzales came to the aid of his two brothers who were being assaulted inside the nightclub.
All five defendants remain on no-bail holds at the Yolo County Jail. A sixth suspect, 20-year-old Joseph Gregory Sandeno, still remains at large.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene