by Setarah Jahid
On January 19, 2017, a preliminary hearing was set for Diego Hernandez – the case focusing on a fight that took place in Zitio Bar and Grill, a sports bar in Woodland, in May of 2015. On that night, while people were leaving the bar at around 1:45 am on May 24, an individual yelled “707 Vacaville” and, in response, another individual yelled “530 Woodland,” sparking a huge fight in which four people were stabbed and at least one sustained major injuries. One of the victims, “DP,” was the first witness to be called to the stand by the prosecuting attorney, Deputy DA Larry Eichele.
DP has been called to court on numerous occasions for this case, but he had never seen Hernandez prior to these appearances. From DP’s recollection, the fight broke out because of name-calling and “just a bunch of words,” and when he tried to stop it, he was stabbed. He stated that he remembers “RM” – Hernandez’s friend – as the individual who attacked him. He sustained major injuries: broken right arm, stitches, and plated screws inserted in his arm. As a result, he missed four months of work.
In cross-examination, the defense attorney, Deputy Public Defender John Sage, asked a string of questions pertaining to the scene of the incident. DP described the parking lot to be dimly lit.
The other witness called to testify was “AA,” another stabbing victim from the bar fight. He received a slice on the face, and a deep cut on his left forearm with two tendons sticking out. Mr. Sage, during cross-examination, asked if it was possible that his client Hernandez intervened in the fight to protect his friend RM from being stabbed. AA, in a harsh tone, retorted, “Maybe he did, after he stabbed me multiple times.” Unlike the former witness, AA was able to place Hernandez at the scene of the incident.
Hernandez is charged on three counts, the first having to do with aggravated mayhem, the second pertaining to assault with a deadly weapon. During the arguments, Mr. Sage made a point to change “aggravated mayhem” to simply “mayhem” – because the evidence shared did not portray that Hernandez made an attempt to blindly assault people that night. The judge accepted this change.
Also, two theories transpired, one from each side, about what happened that night. According to Mr. Sage, there are potentially two people involved, because DP was unable to place Hernandez at the scene, and the knife that was recovered was also not tied to Hernandez. Additionally, Hernandez’s friend, RM, was stabbed. On the other hand, Mr. Eichele argued that there is only one actor, Hernandez, and that he stabbed his friend RM in the back.
The judge ordered an arraignment on the information for the morning of February 3, 2017.
