Four of 5 suspects in restaurant assault accept plea deals

Four of five Hollister suspects in a December 2010 attack outside Paine’s Restaurant have accepted plea deals in the case, while one of the accused men faces a jury trial scheduled for March.
The fight occurred around midnight Dec. 5, 2010 outside the restaurant on East Street after the suspects singled out a member of a rival gang and attacked him, police alleged. Officers identified the suspects after using the restaurant’s surveillance system and later arrested all five of the accused men.
Just one of the suspects is continuing to fight the charges of assault with a deadly weapon, battery causing great bodily harm and additional gang enhancement allegations.
Suspect Samuel B. Canela, 26, had a trial setting hearing this week. A judge scheduled a three-day trial for 8:30 a.m. March 12, with a pre-trial conference set for March 1.
Three of the other four suspects already have accepted plea deals and are serving out their related jail terms.
Jose L. Jaime, 26, Michael J. Mendoza, 23, and Alberto A. Colmenero, 25, all accepted plea agreements and pleaded no contest to lesser felony charges. The three suspects surrendered to authorities in mid-October to serve respective 180-day terms in the San Benito County Jail, along with four years of felony probation, according to court records.
The other suspect, Alexander L. Trujillo, 19, later accepted a plea agreement as well and is scheduled for a sentence hearing at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 12 in room 101 before Judge Robert O’Farrell.