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Men Accused Of Stabbing Student Appear In Court
March 18, 2009A preliminary hearing is scheduled Wednesday for the son of ex-Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and three other young men accused of fatally stabbing a Mesa College student near the San Diego State University campus.
Esteban Nunez, Rafael Garcia, Leshanor Thomas, 20, and Ryan Jett, 23, are charged with murder and other counts in the Oct. 4 killing of 22-year-old Luis Santos.
According to Deputy District Attorney Jill DiCarlo, three of the defendants flew down from Sacramento to join Thomas and were angered at being denied entrance to a fraternity party.
They bragged to Garcia's cousin that they all had knives and wanted to steal a computer or fight someone, DiCarlo alleges.
After they punctured the tires of a truck, they got into a fight with five members of the victim's group, none of whom were armed -- even though Santos was "talking big" about having "a piece," DiCarlo said.
Santos and a friend tried to run away but were attacked anyway, she said.
The prosecutor said Santos was stabbed in the heart and bled to death, another was stabbed in the back and stomach, and a third was stabbed in the shoulder.
A fourth victim was punched in the eye and had to undergo plastic surgery, DiCarlo said.
The defendants returned home, burned their clothes and threw their knives in the Sacramento River, according to DiCarlo.
The defendants have biohazard-type tattoos and act like gang members, she said.
No gang allegations have been filed in the case.
Photographs posted on Nunez's MySpace account after the attack showed him stabbing a frog, while in another photo he looks like he's about to stab a cat, DiCarlo said.
Nunez's attorney, Brad Patton, said that when the groups encountered each other Santos told the defendants, "I've got my piece. What about you?"
Garcia's lawyer, Paul Pfingst, said his client, the son of an administrative law judge in Sacramento, ran when the fight broke out and wasn't there when Santos was stabbed.
Nunez and Garcia are free on bond, but their co-defendants remain in custody.
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