Modesto murder trial may get another defendant if woman is found mentally competent

A second trial for six defendants accused of murder in a 2013 Modesto attack could have an additional defendant. But that will happen only if a jury in November decides Jeanette Robles is mentally fit to stand trial.

The first trial for Robles’ co-defendants, held in a former federal bankruptcy courtroom, ended in late January with a hung jury. The second trial is scheduled to start Feb. 29.

Meantime, attorneys for two of the defendants are still seeking possible plea deals for their clients. So it’s still unclear how many defendants will return to the courtroom next year.

Robles wasn’t a defendant in the first trial. The court determined she did not have the mental capacity to understand the charges against her and assist in her legal defense. So, she was sent to a state mental health facility to restore her competency.

On July 1, Robles was returned to the Stanislaus County jail. Doctors had determined she was now mentally competent to stand trial. Her defense attorney is challenging those findings and would like a jury to decide.

Stephen Foley, Robles’ attorney, asked the court to schedule a mental competency trial for his client. A jury will be selected to listen to testimony and arguments before deciding whether Robles is capable of standing trial.

On Tuesday afternoon, Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff said the competency trial for Robles could start in mid-November, but that needs to be confirmed at an Aug. 10 hearing. Foley estimated the competency trial will last three days.

Nine people have been indicted in connection with Erick Gomez’s death: Robles, Giovani Barocio, Nancy Rodriguez, Elida Carranza, Dalia Mendoza, Lisandro Mendoza and Michael Terrill Sebourn, along with his children Jenna and Jesse James Sebourn.

Barocio, suspected of being the gunman, remains a fugitive. Dalia Mendoza is being prosecuted separately. She has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for her testimony against her co-defendants.

The prosecution says Gomez, 20, was targeted by vengeful Sureño gang members hunting down rival Norteño gang members on Feb. 14, 2013.

The defense says Gomez was shot by a gunman who remains a fugitive and stabbed by a co-defendant who became a key prosecution witness, so their clients should not be held responsible for his death.

Zeff on Tuesday afternoon scheduled Carranza and Jenna Sebourn to return to court Aug. 11 for a pretrial hearing. There is some expectation that the attorneys by then will be able to tell the judge whether they have agreed to plea deals for the two defendants.

Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira told the judge last month that the prosecution was not involved in plea deal discussions with attorneys representing the other defendants.

The first trial in the case went on for three months until the jurors told the judge they could not reach a unanimous verdict for any of the defendants. The former bankruptcy courtroom in downtown Modesto was used to allow more space for the increased number of defendants, attorneys and bailiffs.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department assigned additional deputies to provide security at the former federal courtroom at 12th and L streets. Court officials have secured another lease for the courtroom to be available for the second trial.

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Modesto murder trial may get another defendant if woman is found mentally competent."