Suspects in doctor’s murder to appear in court
Lee, Costello to have trial confirmation hearing on Dec. 10
STOCKTON — Two of the four men accused of taking part in the murder of a prominent Lodi podiatrist will be making another appearance in San Joaquin County Superior Court next month.
Robert Elmo Lee, 80, and Christopher Anthony Costello, 27, will appear before Judge Lauren Thomasson on Dec. 10 for a trial confirmation hearing.
On that day, prosecutors with the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office and defense attorneys will confirm whether or not they are ready for trial and set a trial date.
Angela Hayes, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office, said prosecutors are ready to proceed.
A third defendant, Mallory Stewart Jr., 28, will appear on Jan. 10, 2020 before Thomasson for a jury trial assignment.
The three men are all suspected of participating in the murder of Dr. Thomas Shock at his Rivergate home in Lodi on Aug. 1, 2018.
All three men pleaded not guilty last December. Stewart’s mental health was reviewed by a doctor last summer, and his case is no longer under the court’s control, according to court records online.
Raymond Austin Jacquett, the fourth man involved in Shock’s murder, was found guilty of second-degree murder in July. A motion for a new trial in Jacquett’s case has been set for 11 a.m. Dec. 2 before Thomasson, Hayes said.
Authorities say Jacquett, 27, drove the getaway vehicle while the other three men killed Shock in the doorway to his home.
Jacquett was arrested last September, and Lee, Costello and Stewart were arrested shortly afterward.
According to a warrant released by the courts in October 2018, Lee’s wife had been Shock’s patient in 2011. She had seen Shock for an ingrown toenail, but Shock’s “substandard care” led to part of her foot being amputated in 2012, the warrant said.
Shock was disciplined by the medical board in 2016, the same year Lee’s wife died, but It is unknown if Shock’s care led to her death, the warrant said.
A local man told Lodi detectives during the investigation that he knew Lee for years, and that Lee blamed Shock for his wife’s death, the warrant said.
The night of Shock’s murder, police found a single page of a complaint filed against Shock to the California Board
of Podiatric medicine regarding the treatment of a patient with the initials “B.L.”
Lee later told detectives he was glad Shock was dead, but denied involvement in his murder. He could not explain how the complaint, which had been in his possession, ended up at Shock’s house the night he was killed, the warrant said.
Suspect who fired on officer to appear
Marco Kimo Aquino, the Scotts Valley man who opened fire on a Lodi Police Department officer earlier this month, will make his second appearance in court at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 2 before Judge Ronald Northup for further arraignment.
Police said an officer was responding to the report of shots fired in the 900 block of Industrial Way just before 5 a.m. on Nov. 5.
Upon arrival, the officer encountered Aquino, who immediately opened fire. The officer was not struck during the incident, but Aquino was struck multiple times. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment prior to his arrest.
Police said Aquino, 37, may have been attempting to commit a burglary when the officer arrived on scene. Aquino is currently being held in San Joaquin County Jail without bail on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer.
Hearing for woman who killed husband
A hearing for a Lodi woman accused of killing her estranged husband in October will be held to review doctor’s reports at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 10 before Judge Stephen Scott in Department 7C.
Stephanie Deanna Gonzales, 40, was arrested on Oct. 30 on suspicion was running over her estranged husband, 59year-old Eduardo Gonzales Sr., with his own car near East Pine and South Kelly streets. He was pronounced dead at the scene when officers arrived.
Gonzales fled the scene and was involved in a vehicle collision 30 minutes after the attack at the intersection of Acampo and Bruella roads.
According to court records, Stephanie Gonzales was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in February. Shortly afterward, Eduardo Gonzales had taken a restraining order out on her, which she violated several times.
The morning of his death, Stephanie Gonzales violated the order again, calling Lodi police from his house. She was arrested, but released later that day.
Eduardo Gonzales suffered severe injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene when officers arrived.