Preliminary hearing in Modesto fatal shooting begins

A preliminary hearing in a Modesto murder case began Monday with a heated argument between a prosecutor and a defense attorney with allegations of personal attacks.

Judge Ricardo Córdova heard the arguments from the attorneys but warned them about lashing out at each other in court. “There’s obviously bad blood between the two of you ... I’m not going to allow personal attacks,” the judge said.

The preliminary hearing for defendants Lamar Oldham and Isaiah Stafford was scheduled to start Monday afternoon, but Stafford’s attorney, Mark Sullivan, was asking the court to postpone the hearing.

Oldham, Stafford and Luisa Riley are accused of murder in a north Modesto shooting possibly motivated by drugs. Riley is being prosecuted separately and is scheduled to return to court Feb. 23 for a pretrial hearing.

The fatal shooting of Damian Villavicencio, 19, of Riverbank occurred Dec. 11, 2013, behind the Velvet Grill & Creamery restaurant on McHenry Avenue.

Sullivan was asking the judge to postpone the hearing because he needed more time to review transcripts of police questioning of two witnesses. The defense attorney argued that the prosecutor provided the transcripts of the audio recordings two days before Monday’s hearing, and he needed to get an investigator to compare the transcripts to the recordings.

He also was asking the court to remove the prosecutor from the case. Sullivan told the judge that Deputy District Attorney Brad Nix “vehemently” opposed his motion to postpone the hearing by railing against the defense attorney’s mother in court.

The prosecutor called the defense attorney’s claims “absurd,” saying he said in court that he would not oppose a motion to postpone the hearing if the defense attorney was emotionally distraught over the death of his mother.

Nix told the judge that he provided the transcript of investigators questioning the witnesses as soon as they were provided to him, and that he didn’t plan on playing the recordings during the hearing.

Sullivan also argued that the prosecutor is a potential witness, because Nix asked Riley’s attorney if she knew where the alleged murder weapon was discarded after the shooting. Sullivan argued that Nix’s inquiry led to Riley directing investigators to a .357-caliber handgun on the roof of an apartment complex near the crime scene.

The defense attorney told the judge that the prosecutor’s testimony about what led to the discovery of the gun is relevant to determining Riley’s credibility. Sullivan suggested in court that Riley has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors; that’s why she is being prosecuted separately.

Nix called Sullivan’s arguments “utter nonsense.” He told the judge that there is no plea deal with Riley, but he has told her attorney that they can discuss a possible resolution later. About the information that led to the gun, the prosecutor said all he did was pass on the information to investigators.

Córdova denied the defense motions and began the preliminary hearing with testimony from Stanislaus County forensic pathologist Sung-Ook Baik. He testified that Villavicencio died from blood loss after a bullet entered his back and moved up his body, tearing through two ribs and his left lung before exiting.

Baik also said gunpowder residue found in a thin circle pattern around the entrance wound indicates the gun’s muzzle was placed directly against Villavicencio’s skin when the fatal shot was fired.

During cross-examination, Baik said his opinion was based on seeing the gunpowder markings on Villavicencio’s back. He also said his training on gunpowder markings was done in the early ’80s at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office in Michigan.

Testimony in the hearing is expected to continue Tuesday in Stanislaus Superior Court. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge will determine whether there is enough evidence for the defendants to stand trial.

The defendants also face charges of attempted murder and attempted robbery in connection with the shooting. Another 19-year-old Riverbank man was with Villavicencio when they stumbled into the nearby McDonald’s, bleeding and saying they had been shot, witnesses told police. The other man survived the shooting.

Investigators have said the shooting appeared to have been motivated by drugs, specifically marijuana. A man who tried to revive Villavicencio said the victim was holding what looked like marijuana when he came into the restaurant.

This story was originally published January 26, 2015 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Preliminary hearing in Modesto fatal shooting begins."