Merced County, CA, Preliminary hearing in stabbing death outside Gustine bar delayed

OFF THE WIRE
January hearing set in stabbing death outside Gustine bar.

Six alleged members of Mongols biker gang accused of killing.
By VICTOR A. PATTON
vpatton@mercedsun-star.com

Six alleged members of the notorious Mongols biker gang will have to wait until at least January before having their day in Merced County court on accusations of stabbing a man to death outside a Gustine bar.

Albert Aleman, 37, Brandon Carvalho, 31, Ruben Silva Jr., 23, David Silva Jr., 24, Mark Oseguera, 25, and Richard Naudin, 31, are accused of killing 33-year-old Bill James outside the Gustine Club late Nov. 6, 2009.

A three-day-long preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled to begin in Superior Court Judge John Kirihara's courtroom Monday. Because a key witness couldn't be available, however, the hearing was rescheduled for Jan. 18 through Jan. 20, according to Deputy District Attorney David Elgin, prosecutor in the case.

Richard Naudin
Ruben Silva Jr.
Mark Oseguera
Brandon Carvalho
Albert Aleman
David Silva Jr.
The night of James' death, up to 10 men walked into the 431 Fifth St. bar, and a fight erupted with James. He was stabbed numerous times by at least two of the men. After the fracas 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 in 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 had even 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.

All six men scheduled for the January hearing remain at the Merced County Jail on suspicion of murder.

Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.
Read more: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2010/11/10/1647269/preliminary-hearing-in-stabbing.html#ixzz14wgtXzlH