Ex-California Assembly speaker's son pleads not guilty to murder
Esteban Nuñez, the 19-year-old son of former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, and three other men pleaded not guilty today to murder and additional charges in connection with the fatal stabbing of a college student in October in San Diego.
The four friends from Sacramento, who identified themselves to friends and on the Internet as members of the Hazard Crew, appeared in San Diego Superior Court. "Basically, your honor, they wanted to be gang members," prosecutor Jill DiCarlo said.
Nuñez's attorney, Brad Patton, responded, "There are no gang issues. My client is not a gang member." He pointed out Nuñez's father to the judge his father, noting his distinguished career as the former Assembly speaker.
Superior Court Judge David Szumowski set bail at $2 million for each defendant.
Besides Nuñez, Ryan Jett, 22, Rafael Garcia, 19, and Leshanor Thomas, 19, were arrested. They were arraigned today on one charge of murder, three of assault with a deadly weapon and one of vandalism for allegedly slashing the tires of construction equipment.
Only Jett has a criminal record. He was sentenced Oct. 27 to 120 days in custody after pleading no contest to a felony weapons charge, according to Sacramento Superior Court records. Last year, he was sentenced to short jail terms after pleading no contest in two cases involving charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The defendants are accused of killing Luis Dos Santos, 22, a Mesa College student, after a night of drinking beer and rum at an Oct. 4 party near San Diego State.
Police said the defendants did not know Santos, who was with four friends, when the two groups encountered each other on the street. They said Nuñez and his companions taunted Santos and his friends, then attacked them with knives.
The fight took only 30 seconds, police said. Santos died of a single stab wound to the heart and collapsed in front of the campus gymnasium.
At a news conference today after the arraignment, Patton, Nuñez's attorney, said Nuñez responded in self-defense after the other group attacked and stabbed Jett. He dismissed the San Diego Police Department's contention that Nuñez and his friends fit the definition of a criminal gang, saying it was "making histrionics out of nothing."
