Catch us live on BlogTalkRadio every



Tuesday & Thursday at 6pm P.S.T.




Monday, March 14, 2011

Merced County, CA - 3 members of Mongols gang sentenced in fatal Gustine stabbing

OFF THE WIRE
MIKE NORTH
 mercedsunstar.com
Two still face murder charge; charges dropped against one.
Three members of the notorious Mongols biker gang will serve time in prison for a 2009 stabbing outside a Gustine bar after entering pleas of guilty and no contest Tuesday in Merced County Superior Court.
Defendants Albert Aleman, 37, Brandon Carvalho, 31, Ruben Silva Jr., 23, David Silva Jr., 24, Mark Oseguera, 25, and Richard Naudin, 31, were accused of killing 33-year-old Bill James outside a Gustine bar late Nov. 6, 2009.
Three of the six defandants signed plea deals and were given various sentences, while David Silva Jr. had charges against him dropped.
Mongols   Mongols   Mongols   Mongols   Mongols   Mongols

1.Ruben Silva
2.Carvalho
3.Mark Oseguera
4.David Silva
5.Naudin
6.Aleman
Three members of the notorious Mongols biker gang will serve time in prison for a 2009 stabbing outside a Gustine bar after entering pleas of guilty and no contest Tuesday in Merced County Superior Court.
Defendants Albert Aleman, 37, Brandon Carvalho, 31, Ruben Silva Jr., 23, David Silva Jr., 24, Mark Oseguera, 25, and Richard Naudin, 31, were accused of killing 33-year-old Bill James outside a Gustine bar late Nov. 6, 2009.
Three of the six defandants signed plea deals and were given various sentences, while David Silva Jr. had charges against him dropped.
Naudin pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Oseguera pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Carvalho pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison. His prison term was extended by a year because of a previous term he served.
Based on the evidence in the case, Deputy District Attorney David Elgin, the prosecutor, thought the sentences were appropriate. The case is very complex, but the men sentenced Tuesday received justice, he added.
David Silva Jr. had charges against him dropped because after further investigation, it was determined that he wasn't at the scene or involved in the stabbing, Elgin said.
Several witnesses were interviewed before it was determined that David Silva Jr. wasn't involved, said John Garcia, the attorney who represented David Silva Jr.
Despite being in jail for about two years, he's taken it well and was "ecstatic" to have the charges against him dropped, Garcia said.
"I think from this point on, he'll probably find a better path for himself," Garcia said.
A preliminary hearing for both Ruben Silva Jr. and Aleman, who are still facing murder charges, will continue today at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 1.
Although the case was partially resolved Tuesday, Elgin said the specific motive for the killing remains unknown.
In the midst of the hearing, Carol L. James, the victim's mother, made a statement to the defendants.
While the victim's sister, Heather James could be heard crying in the background, some of the defendants made eye contact with Carol L. James, but others looked away as she explained how the death of her son destroyed her family.
Heather James had also planned on saying a few words, but was too upset to make a statement.
Outside of the courtroom, she said she was very close to her brother growing up. He was 15 months older than her.
Though it's difficult to be in the same courtroom with the men accused of killing her brother, she still makes the hearings to be there for her mom.
Despite three of the defendants being sentenced, it wasn't enough for Heather James.
"It doesn't seem like anything," she said.
Carol L. James labeled the men who killed her son "cowards," noting that nothing can bring her son back.
"I think about it everyday," she said. "I go to the cemetery everyday."
The night of James' death, up to 10 men walked into the 431 Fifth St. bar in Gustine, and a fight erupted with James. He was stabbed several times by at least two of the men. After the fight spilled out into the street, James was stabbed again and collapsed, according to Merced County sheriff's detectives.
Shortly afterward, he was pronounced dead at Memorial Hospital Los Banos. Detectives have said there's no evidence James was gang-affiliated.
The same weekend of James' death, members of the Mongols had booked every room of a Santa Nella hotel. The hotel staff abandoned the business out of fear of the gang, according to a sheriff's report.
In the months after the stabbing, sheriff's detectives rounded up a total of nine suspects throughout Southern California and the Bay Area, with help from agencies in those areas.
Three were released, however, because of a lack of sufficient evidence against them.
Reporter Mike North can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or mnorth@mercedsun-star.com.

Read more: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/03/09/1802935/3-sentenced-in-fatal-gustine-stabbing.html#ixzz1GRdX0xTm