The four Santa Barbara men charged in connection with a fatal shooting on Stearns Wharf in December pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing in Superior Court on Monday.
Arraignment, where defendants enter a plea to the criminal charges filed against them, has been continued several times for the men while they have changed defense attorneys.
The case was assigned to Judge Pauline Maxwell’s courtroom, where a preliminary hearing setting was scheduled for April 6, prosecutor Tate McCallister said.
“I imagine it’ll be a while before there’s a (preliminary) hearing,” he said. “There’s a massive amount of discovery. There was a huge amount of electronic evidence and forensic evidence.”
Robert Dion “Rob” Gutierrez, 52, of Camarillo, was walking on the wharf with his wife when he was struck by a gunshot and killed during a fight between two groups on Dec. 9.
Police have said one of the groups involved Santa Barbara residents with ties to the Westside criminal street gang, and the other group involved Ventura County residents with ties to Ventura County criminal street gangs.
Santa Barbara men charged with murder and other crimes in the killing include Jiram Tenorio Ramon, 22, Christopher Dave Miranda, 21, and Ricardo Tomas Jauregui-Moreno, 20.
Tenorio Ramon is specifically accused of using a handgun to intentionally kill Gutierrez, and discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
James Lee Rosborough, 21, was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
All four men are being held in Santa Barbara County jail custody without bail.
Rosborough is going to bring a motion for bail or release from custody in mid-March, McCallister said, and Jauregui-Moreno’s attorney argued for release on bail or his own recognizance.
The visiting judge filling in for Judge Raimundo Montes De Oca didn’t make a ruling, and that request will be heard by Maxwell at the next court date, McCallister said.
Earlier this month, three juvenile Ventura County residents were arrested and charged in the case.
Two 15-year-olds were charged with murder and the special allegation that they discharged a firearm proximately causing death, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Their names are Adan de la Cruz and Matthew Lopez, McCallister said.
The names of juveniles in court proceedings are typically not disclosed due to their age, except for in the case of certain criminal allegations, such as murder.
A 16-year-old was charged with accessory after the fact and illegal possession of an unregistered firearm, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Their name was not disclosed because of their age.
