Trial in 2012 gang homicide case rescheduled

A homicide trial was rescheduled again this week for an alleged Dos Palos gang member accused of stabbing a man to death in 2012.

Edwin C. Martinez, 22, has pleaded not guilty to murder in connection with the Jan. 5, 2012, death of 21-year-old Juan Carlos Cuadras. The victim was stabbed outside a home in the 2000 block of Walnut Avenue in Dos Palos and died a short time later at Memorial Hospital in Dos Palos, authorities said.

Judge Mark V. Bacciarini agreed to allow Martinez’s new attorney, Barbara O’Neill, more time to review the nearly 3-year-old case, authorities confirmed.

O’Neill was appointed to the case in October after the defendant’s previous attorney, William Davis, removed himself from the case due to an unspecified conflict of interest.

Martinez has changed attorneys several times since his arrest in 2012, according to Merced Superior Court records.

He is due back in court Feb. 3 for a trial-setting conference, according to Steve Slocum, the Merced County deputy district attorney prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Martinez faces a potential life prison sentence, officials said.

Dos Palos police said Cuadras may have intervened in an argument between Martinez and a woman during a small party. Investigators described Cuadras and Martinez as gang rivals. The two men apparently exchanged words and Cuadras was stabbed.

Martinez remains in custody without bail at the Merced County jail.

This story was originally published December 3, 2014 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Trial in 2012 gang homicide case rescheduled."