Thread: Trial opens for Esteban Nunez, son of Fabian Nunez

Trial opens for son of former Assembly Speaker Nunez in San Diego stabbing death

May 4, 2010 | 12:51 pm

Jury selection began today in San Diego Superior Court for the trial of the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and a co-defendant in the stabbing death of a college student amid a night of heavy drinking near San Diego State University in 2008.

Esteban Nunez, 21, and Ryan Jett, 24, are charged with murder, assault, vandalism and conspiracy to destroy evidence in the death of Luis Santos, 22, a student at San Diego Mesa College.

Two other co-defendants, Rafael Garcia, 20, and Leshanor Thomas, 21, have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and, in a plea bargain with prosecutors, agreed to testify against Nunez and Jett.

Prosecutors assert that the four, angry over being refused entry to a fraternity party, set upon Santos, who was walking nearby in the early-morning hours of Oct. 4, 2008. He died from a single stab wound to the heart.

Nunez's father, a Democrat, was Assembly speaker from 2004 to 2008, when he was termed out from the Assembly.

Defense attorneys assert that their clients acted in self-defense during a street brawl and that Santos had boasted that he was carrying a gun.

Nunez, who was living in Sacramento, had come to San Diego for a weekend of partying. Initially, prosecutors alleged that the four friends constituted a street gang because of their tough talk on the Internet and the fact that they called themselves the Hazard Crew. Nunez has a "biohazard" tattoo.

According to court documents, Nunez told his friends that, if they were criminally charged, his father would use his political influence to help them.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and several other prominent Los Angeles-area political figures wrote letters in support of Nunez's attorneys bid to have the bail reduced for their client.

Over the objections of the prosecutor, the judge reduced from $2 million to $1 million the bail for Nunez in December 2008. He has been free on bail awaiting trial.

During a preliminary hearing, a friend of the co-defendants testified that he overhead them, on the car ride back to Sacramento, discussing the need to get rid of the knife and a bloody shirt.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... defen.html

There were a couple of articles that I posed here back when this happened, and lots of comments, but SEARCH doesn't find them now.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

There were a couple of articles that I posed here back when this happened, and lots of comments, but SEARCH doesn't find them now.

Here they are:

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-139733.html

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-961647.html

These articles are at this link (but all of the comments are gone.)

Nunez, friends given Oct. 5 trial date UPDATED

Co-defendant in San Diego murder case that involves Fabian Nuñez's son pleads guilty to a lesser charge

New trial dates set for 3 in fatal SDSU stabbing

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-961647.html

RELATED

Nunez, pal plead guilty to lesser charge in SDSU slaying

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1055208.html