A jury Thursday found a 26-year-old Hollister man not guilty of
attempted murder after he had been accused of stabbing someone
eight times in the back during a bar fight inside Whiskey Creek
Saloon in March of last year. But the jury was deadlocked on two
other charges, attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a
deadly weapon.
A jury Thursday found a 26-year-old Hollister man not guilty of attempted murder after he had been accused of stabbing someone eight times in the back during a bar fight inside Whiskey Creek Saloon in March of last year. But the jury was deadlocked on two other charges, attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.
Matthew Lujan was accused of stabbing the victim, Christopher Del Real, eight times in the back when Del Real was in a fistfight with Lujan’s brother, according to court documents. The incident occurred March 12, 2010. Described in court records as an “ongoing feud,” the two started a fistfight that ended with Del Real stabbed in the back.
Lujan was arrested April 10 in Riverside County and charged on suspicion of attempted murder.
Lujan faced two primary felony charges at trial, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The jury had the ability to convict him on lesser counts of each charge.
While the jury ruled not guilty on the attempted murder charge, it also ruled not guilty on the next-lowest count alleging second-degree attempted murder. Also connected to the attempted murder charge, though, the jury was deadlocked on a count of attempted voluntary manslaughter.
The second primary charge of assault with a deadly weapon resulted in another deadlocked jury.
The three-day jury trial included testimony from six witnesses, including a Whiskey Creek Saloon bartender and two investigators. Evidence included security camera footage of the incident and multiple pictures of Del Real’s wounds.
Harry Damkar, Lujan’s attorney, was pleased with the results of the trial.
“I think they (the jury) did an excellent job looking at the evidence,” Damkar said. “The jury system in America acts to safeguard the victims and the accused. And they did an admirable job doing that.”
Lujan, still in custody at the San Benito County Jail, will return to court June 2 to determine if the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office will seek a retrial.
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Palacios, the prosecutor in the case, was out of the office Friday and could not be reached.
An attempted murder charge would have resulted in a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
As for the counts on which the jury deadlocked, a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon would result in a prison term of up to four years, and a conviction for attempted voluntary manslaughter would call for up to 5 and a half years in prison, according to the penal code.
