Nunez, friends given Oct. 5 trial date

Oct. 5 trial date
4:22 p.m. April 22, 2009

SAN DIEGO – A Superior Court judge on Wednesday scheduled an Oct. 5 trial date for four young men accused in the fatal stabbing of a college student on the San Diego State University campus last year.

The defendants – including the son of former state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez – appeared in court for a second arraignment, during which they pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

If convicted, they each face a prison term of more than 25 years to life.
Esteban Nuñez, 20; Rafael Garcia, 19; Ryan Jett, 23; and Leshanor Thomas, 20, are accused of participating in a street fight during which 22-year-old Mesa College student Luis Santos was killed and three others were wounded.

The fight occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 4 on 55th Street near Peterson Gym.

Defense lawyers have argued that the group acted in self-defense. They've noted that Jett was stabbed in his right leg during the fight.
Nuñez and Garcia have posted bail and returned to their homes in Sacramento. Jett and Thomas remain in jail.

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