Selection will begin on Monday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court for a pair of juries to decide the fates of two men charged with killing an Air Force veteran in her Santa Maria home almost three years ago
Victor A. Ramirez Martinez, 32, and Jose Villagomez, 23, were arrested in August 2015 in connection with the brutal attack of Marilyn Pharis, 64, in her home on the 900 block of North DeJoy Street.
Pharis worked in a civilian job at Vandenberg Air Force Base at the time of her death, and died at a local hospital eight days after the attack.
Defense attorneys Lori Pedego for Martinez and Michael Scott for Villagomez, along with Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Bramsen, appeared Thursday afternoon before Judge John McGregor.
“Are both sides ready?” McGregor asked before receiving three answers of yes.
The judge set Monday morning to hear final motions in the case, and expected the first jury panel to appear Monday afternoon.
McGregor earlier granted a defense motion to have dual juries consider the evidence against the two men.
The jury and alternates for Martinez will be picked first, and will be followed by Villagomez’s jury several days later.
On Monday and Tuesday, the judge expected to only consider hardship requests from the first sets of potential jurors for Martinez’s case, and start the voir dire. or questioning, on Wednesday.
The trial is expected to last into June, according to attorneys’ estimates.
The death of Pharis and arrest of Martinez sparked outrage after it was revealed the defendant was an undocumented immigrant. Santa Maria police had arrested Martinez six times in 15 months..
In revealing details about the arrests in August 2015, then-police chief Ralph Martin blamed the nation’s immigration policies and other laws aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.
“I am not remiss to say that from Washington D.C. to Sacramento, there is a blood trail into the bedroom of Marilyn Pharis,” Martin said in August 2015.
Villagomez was born in the United States.
Showing the high interest in the case, a number of media outlets have requested to take photos and video, including LawandCrime.com, a site founded by Dan Abrams devoted to live court video and high-profile criminal trials,
The start of this trial has been waiting for the completion of another homicide trial involving the same two defense attorneys.
Scott and Pedego completed closing arguments Wednesday in that case, and the jury began deliberations about the fate of two former Allan Hancock College basketball players charged with murder, robberies and burglaries from late 2014.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.