Jury trial on track for gang member accused of murder

The spring jury trial is on track for a 23-year-old man, who is believed to be a member of a Vallejo criminal street gang and accused of first-degree murder in 2015.

Jose Alberto Gonzalez, 23, was scheduled to appear Monday in Department 15 for a readiness conference but the proceeding was vacated and, as previously scheduled, he will face a trial management conference at 1:30 p.m. April 12 and a jury trial on April 14 in the Justice Building in Vallejo.

Audel Gomez, 21, who was linked to the crime as an accessory and has pleaded to the charge will be sentenced for the felony, in Judge Robert Bowers’ courtroom, on April 12.

Gomez, who is not in custody but previously served time in connection to the crime, faces a maximum of three years in prison and will testify at Gonzalez’s trial, The Reporter has learned.

Criminal defense attorney Leslie Prince represents Gomez, and David Nelson represents Gonzalez, replacing criminal defense attorney Laura Petty.

Gonzalez had, at one point, been scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing but those proceedings do not appear to be in effect, according to court records in the case.

Gonzalez was a juvenile when he and three others believed to be members of the Brown Brotherhood, a subset of the Sureno criminal street gang, were loitering on Aug. 13, 2015, under a Vallejo bridge in an area rife with gang-related graffiti.

The victim, James Souza, 46, was walking along train tracks underneath the bridge when he was allegedly confronted by Gonzalez and another suspected gang member, according to the Solano County District Attorney. Gonzalez and a co-defendant were armed with handguns, according to court records.

During the confrontation, Gonzalez reportedly asked Souza, “Do you bang?” Moments later, Gonzalez and the other gang member allegedly fired their weapons at the victim, striking him at least nine times. Souza died at the scene.

Vallejo police officers arrested Gonzalez two months later. He was booked into Solano County Jail, with bail set at $5 million. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, gun, and gang-related charges.

Charges against Enrique Hector Pearce, initially a co-defendant in the case, were dismissed on July 17, 2017. Information about another co-defendant, Marcos Gutierrez Casas, was not available.

In May 2018, a Solano County Superior Court judge ruled that Gonzalez’s case would be transferred from juvenile to adult criminal court.

If found guilty of all the charges, Gonzalez may be sentenced to as much as 60 years to life in state prison.