The judge presiding over the case of five men suspected of murdering Morgan Hill teen Tara Romero Nov. 4, 2011 ruled Thursday morning that the court will not release uncensored police reports to the public defender.
According to the prosecuting attorney, District Deputy Attorney Peter Waite, the public defender said some reports were overly redacted, to which the judge said he would review them in private at some point.
For the last few months, the prosecutors and defendants have been arguing an evidence-sharing issue, in which the suspects are seeking access to the police reports of the incident in which the names and addresses of witnesses and victims are not redacted.
Waite has said that the defendants should not be allowed access to such information because it could endanger the lives of witnesses and victims.
After the judge’s ruling Thursday morning at the Hall of Justice in San Jose, the District Attorney is to provide a list of every witness – Waite estimated there were about 20 – in a random order so the attorneys may check against their list of clients they’ve previously represented as to not present a conflict of interest.
Also, Waite will act as a liaison between the defense attorney and witnesses. So if the defense wishes to interview a witness, Waite will notify them, if they agree they are to meet in a neutral place.
Waite said he was OK with the judge’s decision.
Romero was shot to death in a drive-by shooting near the intersection of Cosmo and Del Monte avenues Nov. 4, 2011. She was standing on a grassy knoll near the intersection with a group of friends about her age. Three of those teens – all Morgan Hill residents and all Sobrato High School students at the time – were injured by the gunfire, police said.
While police think the suspected shooters are gang-related and carried out the shooting for gang-related reasons, the victims were not involved in any illegal street gang activity. The victims were standing in the area waiting for a ride home from a birthday party.
Esmeling Bahena, 18 of Morgan Hill; Ricardo Diaz, 19 of Morgan Hill; Fernando Mateo Lopez, 20 of Gilroy; Primitivo Hernandez, 23 of San Jose; and Ramon Gutierrez, 17 of Morgan Hill are each charged with murder and attempted murder, with enhancements for being associated with an illegal street gang.
They were arrested within an hour after the shooting, as a Morgan Hill officer saw their car blow through a stop sign in the area and flee to a home on Barnell Avenue – about a mile from the shooting scene.
The suspects have not yet entered a plea. The next hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 27.
