Hollister
– Prosecution and a defense attorney involved in the case of a
Hollister teenager accused of murder will be in San Benito Superior
Court Monday to try to resolve a dispute over the sharing of
evidence.
Hollister – Prosecution and a defense attorney involved in the case of a Hollister teenager accused of murder will be in San Benito Superior Court Monday to try to resolve a dispute over the sharing of evidence.
Greg LaForge, attorney for 17-year-old Emilio Roman, said he has still not seen all of the district attorney’s evidence against his client – even though Judge Alan Hedegard ordered the district attorney’s office to hand over the evidence by Oct. 18, 2006.
District Attorney Candice Hooper said delays in providing evidence were caused by understaffing at the Hollister Police Department. LaForge was given 423 pages of the prosecution’s evidence against his client on Jan. 9 and Hooper said Friday the rest of the evidence is contained in a five-page document that she plans to present to LaForge on Monday.
Roman and 18-year-old Gonzalo Munguia are accused of killing Hollister resident Daniel Gallegos, also 18, in July. Roman is charged with second-degree murder. Munguia is charged with first-degree murder.
On Monday, Hedegard will review whether the District Attorney’s Office has acted appropriately during the discovery phase of the case, when the prosecution is required to turn over its evidence to the defense.
Last month, LaForge filed a request for sanctions against the prosecution, asking that Hooper be held in contempt of court. His request for sanctions also asks that none of the prosecution’s witness
testimony be allowed at trial, that the prosecution be prohibited from presenting evidence at trial and that the jury be advised that the district attorney had failed to disclose evidence against his client during discovery, according to San Benito County Superior Court documents.
LaForge declined to comment Friday about Monday’s court hearing. “My motion for sanctions will speak for itself,” he said.
Hooper said she plans to ask the judge on Monday to combine the cases against Roman and Munguia. She said she expects Hedegard to set a date on Monday to consider the motion for consolidation.
“The majority of the evidence is the same against both parties,” Hooper said.
Hooper said Friday she has yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty against Munguia. Prosecutors said the killing was gang-related, which would make the perpetrator eligible for the death penalty under state law.
“I’m still trying to evaluate it,” Hooper said Friday. “The family came out and said they are not interested in it.”
Catherine Lara, the mother of Gallegos, previously told the Free Lance that she opposes the death penalty.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
