Suspects in the 2011 Park Hill homicide of Mark Arballo are due back in court Thursday for an arraignment on information, according to court records.
The hearing is set for 9 a.m. Thursday at the San Benito County Courthouse in room 101 before Judge Steven Sanders.
The three suspects who remain in adult court were bound over for trial in November for the 2011 slaying of Hollister’s Arballo on Park Hill.
Conrad Copado, Ray Gonzales and Isaiah Mendoza face adult homicide charges in the January 2011 slaying.
They face respective allegations of first-degree murder along with other gang-related felonies. Due to their ages at the time of the murder and other circumstances for each suspect, potential exposure varies from 35 years to life in prison to life without parole. All three suspects are county residents.
Three other prior defendants are no longer in adult court – two had those charges dismissed in July after respective interviews with police. Those juvenile cases and their records are no longer open to public access. Five of the six initial suspects facing charges were juveniles at the time of the Jan. 4, 2011 beating of Arballo on Park Hill. Copado, 21 at the time, was the only adult suspect.
Arballo, 39 at the time, sustained major injuries to his head and died in a hospital about a month after the assault. Authorities alleged it was a gang-related homicide and retaliation against Arballo for being a witness to another crime.
Other court hearings:
• Michael A. Barrientos, 33, was arrested in October on weapon and drug charges after a foot race through a downtown Hollister neighborhood. He faces a pre-preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday before a scheduled preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday in room 101 before Sanders.
After a brief foot chase with police following a traffic stop Oct. 23, Barrientos was accused of possessing a knife, methamphetamine and marijuana – and faces related charges.
• Suspects in a September beating that involved gunshots being fired on Caputo Court will be in court Thursday at 2 p.m. for an arraignment on information.
Jacob Vargas, 21, David Villarreal, 24, and Larry Quiroz, 20, face charges in adult court, while one of the original five suspects was charged in juvenile court. A fifth suspect arrested in September, Stephanie Fernandez, was not listed in court records Monday.
At about 4 a.m. Sept. 22, a large fight in progress was reported at about 4 a.m. in the 1000 block of Caputo Court.
Police reported that a Hispanic male adult sustained injuries from being kicked, punched and having glass bottles broken over his head and face – after gang members had asked him where he was from and proceeded to attack him when he said he was not from Hollister.
Friends of the victim told police they were helping him get away and were shot at in the process.
