Plea Hearing for 2008 Murder Suspects Delayed

The plea hearing for three Union City men three years ago has been delayed to July 28.

Noel Cruz, 19, Joel Perry, Jr., 19, and Damian Alaniz, 18, made a brief appearance Thursday morning at the Fremont Hall of Justice about 11:05 a.m.

Two of the young men, who police say are gang members, were arrested July 1 when Union City police, along with other local law enforcement agencies, served a series of arrest warrants throughout the city. Perry was already in custody on a previous criminal charge at the time, according to court documents.

According to court records, Perry was arrested in Newark on June 15, 2010,  on suspicion of attempted murder and three counts of assault with a weapon. He appeared in court Thursday morning on that matter as well but his attorney in that case was not present.

Perry is scheduled to begin a preliminary hearing in that case on July 19.

Private attorneys, who took over the cases from public defenders, are representing each defendant in the 2008 murder case. The attorneys asked Judge Dennis McLaughlin for the plea hearing to be pushed two weeks to allow more time to review the case discovery.

Each man faces one count of murder, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and participation in a criminal street gang stemming from the 2008 killing of Juan Carlos Gomez of Hayward.

According to police, Gomez was shot and killed during a robbery shortly after 6 p.m. on Feb. 29, 2008. Responding officers located a vehicle with Gomez and another adult male inside suffering from life-threatening gunshots wounds.

Gomez was pronounced dead at the scene while the other man was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Cruz, Perry and Alaniz were teenagers — ages 16, 15 and 15, respectively — at the time of the alleged crime.

The defendants are being charged as adults, according to Deputy District Attorney Mark Melton.

However, because of their ages at the time of the crime, there may be sentencing implications, Melton said. If convicted, a life sentence with parole may be possibility, he said.

Cruz was previously sentenced to five years' probation on Nov. 24, 2010, for making criminal threats. The sentence includes a gang enhancement, court records showed.

All three are currently being held at Santa Rita Jail without bail.