Murder case moves toward settlement

Plea bargains may be in the works for two teenagers accused of gunning down a rival gang member last year in a Los Banos park.

Diego Leal, 18, and Fabian Cruz Roman, 16, have pleaded not guilty to murder for the Dec. 7, 2014 shooting death of Raymond Sevilla, 17, of Dos Palos. Leal was 17 when the incident occurred. Both defendants have been charged as adults.

According to court testimony, Roman, whom authorities have said is a member of a Sureño criminal street gang, and Leal arrived at Dos Amigos Park in the 2200 block of San Luis Street with friends. They encountered Sevilla, a member of the Norteños criminal street gang, and others sitting at a picnic bench. Sevilla was shot in the in the back and killed while running away, according to Los Banos police.

A preliminary hearing was postponed earlier this week after retired Judge Frank Dougherty allowed attorneys in the case time to negotiate a potential settlement. The hearing began last week and has been postponed twice.

“We’ve had some more discussions on the case. We believe they’re meaningful. We’re actually headed for settlement in this matter,” said William Davis, Roman’s defense attorney.

Harold Nutt, Merced County chief deputy district attorney, said a preliminary hearing being stopped while in progress is not necessarily unusual. He said whether plea deals are offered during the preliminary hearing stage depends on the facts of each case. Nutt was filling in Wednesday for Deputy District Attorney Travis Colby, who is prosecuting the case. Colby was away at a trial in Merced.

Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Leal’s attorney, said his client has not yet been offered a plea deal, but said he’s hoping the case will conclude at the next court hearing on Sept. 25.

Testimony last week focused on whether there were one or two shooters the night Sevilla was killed. Some witnesses said they heard or saw things that indicated there were two gunmen. Witness Oswaldo Mendoza said he was with Roman and Leal during the shooting. He testified that he only saw Roman with a gun.

Leal and Roman will be back in court Sept. 25 at the Robert M. Falasco Justice Center in Los Banos.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Murder case moves toward settlement."