Possible plea deal next year in deadly federal officer shooting in Modesto

Attorneys could announce early next year they’ve reached a plea deal for a Hollister man accused of murder in the shooting death of his co-worker during a fight outside a north Modesto bar.

Robert Anthony Moreno has been in custody since Oct. 5, 2012. Police say Moreno brandished a gun during the fight with Billy and Andrew Diaz in July 2012, opened fire and inadvertently shot to death a fellow federal officer, Daryl Chargualaf.

Moreno and Chargualaf worked as Department of Defense police officers at a facility in Tracy.

Testimony in the September 2013 preliminary hearing indicated the fight stemmed from a confrontation inside O’Malley’s Bar on Standiford Avenue. The defendant also has been charged with two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic gun.

Deputy District Attorney Jeff Laugero on Tuesday told the judge that they are still working on the details of a possible plea deal with John Garcia, Moreno’s attorney. The prosecutor said they could be ready to agree to a plea deal by January.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Ricardo Córdova scheduled Moreno, 33, to return to court Jan.4. Moreno’s trial has not yet been rescheduled.

He remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail; his bail is set at $2.9 million.

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Possible plea deal next year in deadly federal officer shooting in Modesto."