VENTURA : 3 Men Plead Not Guilty in Slaying
Three Ventura men pleaded not guilty Monday to the gang-related slaying of a 16-year-old boy during Santa Barbara’s Fiesta Days celebration in August.
Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Stevens accepted the pleas from Benjamin Huerta, 18, Gregory Dominguez, 19, and Ricardo Cervantes, 20. They are accused of taking part in the fatal stabbing of Robert Mitchum during an Aug. 5 gang fight on the first night of the festival.
Stevens scheduled a settlement conference for Jan. 11 and set trial for Feb. 1. Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald Zonen said the trial will take three to four weeks.
After the arraignment, Dominguez’s attorney, Douglas R. Hayes, said he believes the slaying is a case of voluntary manslaughter, not murder, and said it could be resolved by a plea agreement in January.
“There are a lot of different versions of what happened,” Hayes said. “There’s a lot of confusion about who did the stabbing.”
Police have said the three Ventura men--all admitted members of the Avenue Gangsters gang--attacked Mitchum as he walked with friends. The attack came after each group shouted the names of their gangs, police said.
Investigators said they believe Dominguez did the stabbing. He is being held without bail in the Santa Barbara County Jail. Cervantes and Huerta are being held on $250,000 bail.
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