As part of a plea bargain agreement, three suspects pleaded no
contest for their part in the June 7 stabbing of a local man
outside of a Quik Stop Market.
Ruben Mendoza, 21, Marco Mendoza, 18, and Raymond Martin Galvan,
17, all of Hollister, pleaded no contest to one count of assault
with a deadly weapon Wednesday.
As part of a plea bargain agreement, three suspects pleaded no contest for their part in the June 7 stabbing of a local man outside of a Quik Stop Market.
Ruben Mendoza, 21, Marco Mendoza, 18, and Raymond Martin Galvan, 17, all of Hollister, pleaded no contest to one count of assault with a deadly weapon Wednesday.
In exchange for their pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop the charges of attempted murder, attempted second-degree robbery and allegations of gang involvement.
A plea of no contest is viewed the same as a plea of guilty in criminal proceedings, the main difference is a plea of no contest cannot be viewed as an admission of guilt in a civil trial.
The plea bargain did not include any agreement on how long or harsh of a sentence the Mendozas and Galvan could receive. The trio could be sentenced to a maximum of seven years in state prison, according to the state penal code.
Although the trio’s three defense attorneys said they would rather see their clients go free, they felt the bargain was fair.
“It’s a much better resolution than my client was facing previously,” said defense attorney Greg LaForge, who is representing Ruben Mendoza.
If they had been tried and convicted of the allegations they were originally charged with, they could have been sentenced to more than 20 years in state prison.
As part of accepting their plea, the three young men had to admit that there was a factual basis for the charge.
Superior Court Judge Harry Tobias accepted their plea but postponed sentencing them next month, giving him an opportunity to review a sentencing report from the county’s probation department.
The trio attacked Ernesto Lopez, 23, as he was trying to use a pay phone at the Quik Stop on San Felipe Road.
Lopez told police that he was attacked by the trio after they demanded money from him. When Lopez refused to give them money, the three men allegedly started hitting him and a fight ensued.
As the fight continued with Lopez desperately trying to keep this attackers at bay, the trio stabbed him repeatedly in the abdomen and upper torso area.
As Lopez fell bleeding to the pavement, an off-duty Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled up on the scene, which sent the suspects fleeing through the field.
Lopez sustained traumatic injuries to his face, arms and chest. He had been stabbed numerous times with an unknown object, police said.
About 15 minutes after the initial call for help, Hollister police officers arrested the three suspects near the intersection of Central Avenue and Graf Road.
