Monday’s trial date for four of the five suspects accused of killing Morgan Hill teen Tara Romero in a Nov. 4, 2011 drive-by shooting was continued, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Peter Waite.
The new trial date for Fernando Mateo Lopez, 21 of Gilroy; Ricardo Diaz, 20 of Morgan Hill; Esmeling Bahena, 19 of Morgan Hill; and Primitivo Hernandez, 24 of San Jose was rescheduled for an April 1 trial date at the Hall of Justice in San Jose, Waite said.
The fifth suspect, Ramon Gutierrez, 18 of Morgan Hill, was found incompetent to stand trial for the charges against him at a hearing earlier this year, and remains in a mental hospital for treatment until he is able to face the charges, authorities said.
The five suspects are charged with murder and five counts of attempted murder for their alleged involvement in the Feb. 4, 2011 drive-by shooting near the intersection of Cosmo and Del Monte avenues. They are also charged with special enhancements for carrying out the crime for a criminal street gang, according to authorities.
Romero, a 14-year-old freshman at Sobrato High School, was killed in the incident. Three of her friends and former classmates were also shot and injured during the attack which took place while the teens were standing outside the Village Avante apartment complex awaiting a ride home.
The teens had been out celebrating the birthday of another teen friend who was standing with them when a Chrysler 300 occupied by the five suspects drove slowly through the intersection and opened fire without stopping, according to authorities.
The five suspects – identified by police as associates of the Sureno street gang – were arrested just hours after the drive-by shooting, police said.
All five suspects have been in custody in Santa Clara County Jail since their arrest.
During a preliminary hearing in June 2013 at the Hall of Justice, Morgan Hill officers testified Bahena, Gutierrez and Diaz told police after their arrest that on the night of Nov. 4, 2011, all five suspects were traveling together in the Chrysler when someone in the vehicle opened fire on the group of teens standing on the corner of Cosmo and Del Monte avenues.
Those three suspects denied pulling the trigger, and insisted they did not go out that night planning to shoot anybody, officers testified.
They also told officers that the shooting might have been the result of an ongoing “beef” with rival Norteno gang members at the Village Avante apartment complex. This feud, which started weeks before the incident that led to Romero’s death, included incidents of vandalism and even an Oct. 31, 2011 drive-by shooting outside the apartments that did not result in any deaths or injuries.
The victims in the Nov. 4, 2011 shooting were not involved in any gang activity, and were likely mistakenly targeted by the five suspects, police said.
