Prelim-setting paused once again for man charged with murders

Raymond M. Weber, accused of killing two women on Jan. 30, ordered to return to court in December

The setting of a preliminary hearing date was reset once again last week for a 29-year-old Sacramento man accused of killing two women in late January in Vacaville.

Raymond Michael Weber appeared in Department 1 Friday morning for a readiness conference and to learn of his hearing date, but Judge Jeffrey C. Kauffman rescheduled the matters, including a motion to amend the complaint, for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 6 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.

The latest development in the case came after a June mental competency report, suspension of criminal proceedings, and an amended complaint when Kauffman also reshuffled proceedings at that time.

The judge was scheduled on June 16 to hear a so-called “1368 doctor’s report” about Weber’s ability to help in his defense. Kauffman suspended criminal proceedings on that day.

But later in the day, Kauffman apparently received an amended complaint in the case and then scheduled more proceedings in the case.

Under California law, a defendant whose mental competency is doubtful cannot be tried; however, once mental competency has been restored, the defendant can face more legal proceedings, including a jury trial.

Weber, who remains in Solano County Jail without bail, made his first court appearance Feb. 2 in Department 11, where he faced charges of two counts of murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also faced charges of domestic violence and making terror threats, both cited in an out-of-county warrant.

In a press statement at the time, Solano County District Attorney’s Office officials said special circumstances surround the killings, notably: 1) Both murders were especially “heinous, atrocious, manifesting exceptional depravity”; 2) Both murders were committed to prevent a lawful arrest; 3) Both murders were committed while engaged in the crime of rape; and 4) The defendant committed multiple murders.

The prepared statement also pointed out that Weber was convicted in 2006 of assault with a firearm and in 2016 of unlawful possession of a controlled substance while armed, both in Sacramento and both felonies

Weber is represented by Deputy Public Defender Tamani Taylor. Deputy District Attorney Eric Charm leads the prosecution.

If convicted at trial, Weber may receive a death sentence or life without the possibility of parole.

He was arrested on Jan. 30 following a lengthy standoff in Vacaville.

Police responded to the Rocky Hill Veterans Apartments in the 500 block of Rocky Hill Road shortly after 12:40 a.m., when a woman reported that a man armed with a handgun was live streaming from an apartment where two women, not moving, were lying on the floor.

Upon their arrival, police said the man, later identified as Weber, had barricaded himself inside. SWAT and Critical Incident Negotiation teams were deployed.

Negotiations were unsuccessful, neighbors were evacuated and flash bangs and chemical agents were subsequently deployed into the occupied unit. Officers found Weber hiding in the apartment and, following a brief struggle, shot him with a Taser to bring him under control. He was arrested at 8:32 a.m.

Both female victims, ages 15 and 27, were found dead, police said. The older victim was identified as Savannah Theberge, with ties to Utah and Georgia, and the teenager was said to be from Elk Grove, south of Sacramento.

Weber was named a person of interest in connection with the 2014 fatal shooting of then-girlfriend Nichole Duarte, 19.

Sacramento police said in a press statement at the time that his brother, then16-year-old Antoine Weber, is believed to have shot her in the face during a dispute. Raymond Weber fled the scene, police said, and officers wanted to speak with him “regarding his involvement in this case.”

According to a report by KXTV Ch. 10 in Sacramento, Antoine Weber pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in that case.