Tomas Martinez Romero will wait three more months to hear
whether or not he will have to stand trial for attempted
murder.
Public Defender Javier Rios and Deputy District Attorney Amir
Alem voiced a joint request to continue the case to further secure
more witnesses, Alem said.
Attempted murder hearing delayed
Tomas Martinez Romero will wait three more months to hear whether or not he will have to stand trial for attempted murder.
Public Defender Javier Rios and Deputy District Attorney Amir Alem voiced a joint request to continue the case to further secure more witnesses, Alem said.
On the night of March 27, 2007, Romero walked up to a car at Stoney Court Apartments in east Gilroy with five occupants and fired almost 10 rounds, injuring two people, police said.
Several of the witnesses do not speak English and others are minors, requiring their parents be present along with an interpreter.
Romero was originally arrested in connection with a grisly downtown stabbing – the city’s only murder in 2007. However, charges were dropped and he was released. An illegal alien, Romero was almost deported but police removed him from a bus at the last moment in July 2007.
Romero’s preliminary hearing is now scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 28 at the South County Courthouse. A judge will hear testimony to decide if there is enough evidence to order Romero to stand trial.
Quiet Mushroom Mardi Gras
Police didn’t make any arrests related to the Mushroom Mardi Gras, according to Morgan Hill police Sgt. Troy Hoefling, and the two-day annual festival was relatively problem-free.
“We had some spillage over into the downtown bars after the close of the festival,” he said. “But the officers on duty did a bunch of walk-throughs of the bars, and everything was OK.”
This was the second year the festival was held in the parking lot of the Community and Cultural Center and on Depot Street, and Hoefling said it was a good location.
“From a police standpoint, it is easier to manage in this location than when it was spread out along Monterey in the downtown,” he said.
In addition to the regular patrol teams of at least four officers on 12-hour shifts, extra off-duty officers were called in to focus on the festival. During the morning hours, when crowds were expected to be lighter and alcohol sales slower than the afternoon, four extra officers were on duty, with a maximum of 10 officers patrolled the festival.
Last year, there were several fights and one arrest associated with the Mushroom Mardi Gras. Two years ago, there were two arrests and several smaller incidents.
