DA says she’s also negotiating a plea deal for man suspected of
driving car over Gallegos
In an emotional hearing at San Benito Superior Court today, 19-year-old Emilio Roman was told to return to court July 22 to receive a sentence of 10 to 12 years at the California Youth Authority for his part in the 2006 killing of Daniel Gallegos, who was driven over repeatedly by a car during a fight.
Roman had been scheduled to be sentenced to 10 years in CYA at today’s hearing, but the proceeding was rescheduled when attorneys discovered he had been convicted in 2004 for one of the same charges he currently faces.
Roman’s attorney Greg LaForge said he needed time to determine if Roman’s previous conviction could potentially add time to the sentence.
At the end of the proceeding, Gallegos’ mother Catherine Lara asked to speak in front of the court. Visiting Judge Alan Hedegard granted her request and through tears and in a voice choked with emotion, Lara accused the court of shirking justice.
“I don’t think my son is being served right,” Lara said from the audience seats of the courthouse. “They want to give him 12 years, and that’s not justice. My son is a human being.”
Hedegard told Lara that the case would be continued for three weeks and invited her to speak at the next hearing.
Outside the courtroom, Lara told the Free Lance she believed San Benito County District Attorney Candice Hooper had “failed to do her job” and that she was “taking the easy way out.”
“Twelve years is nothing for a human life,” Lara said. “My son has spent three years in the ground. It tore my life apart. It tore my family apart. I just want justice so I can rest and so my son can rest.”
Hooper responded to the criticism later to the Free Lance by saying she had discussed the plea agreement with Gallegos’ father but was unable to contact Lara.
“We tried to contact the mother, but her phone was disconnected and we were unable to reach her,” Hooper said.
Hooper also said today that she is currently discussing a possible plea deal with Gonzalo Munguia, accused of driving the car that killed Gallegos, but promised “it will be a murder case.”
LaForge said that adding an extra two years onto Roman’s sentence would be grounds to withdraw the plea agreement and take Roman’s case to trial.
“When we signed the plea it was for 10 years,” LaForge said. “Anything more is not what we signed for and we’re prepared to head to trial.”
Roman – who was age 17 at the time of the homicide – was previously charged with murder, torture and special enhancements for being part of a criminal street gang. The charges stem from the a July 2006 night when police say Roman, along with 20-year-old Gonzalo Munguia got into a fist fight with Gallegos and his younger brother on the 200 block of Hillcrest Road. They are both suspected Surenos.
During the course of the fight, police allege Munguia entered a sedan and drove it over Gallegos before backing up over him again. Roman and Munguia are said to have fled the scene, leaving Gallegos to die some time later after being flown by helicopter to a Bay Area hospital.
Hooper originally had attempted to try Roman as an adult but later dropped the charges and sent the case to juvenile court in exchange for Roman’s guilty plea to lesser charges of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and a special allegation for street terrorism.
Munguia, meanwhile, faces the death penalty if convicted of being behind the wheel of the car that killed Gallegos and would be the first person executed in San Benito County.
His case is set for trial in November.
