Four Defendants in Stearns Wharf Murder Push Trial Date to June

Another hearing was held Thursday morning at Santa Barbara Superior Court in the Stearns Wharf murder trial, with all four defendants — Ricardo Tomas Jauregui-Moreno, Jiram Tenorio Ramon, Christopher Dave Miranda, and James Lee Rosborough —  appearing in person in Judge Pauline Maxwell’s Department 6 courtroom for the first time since the preliminary hearings began. The four men face various charges in connection with the murder of bystander Robert Dion “Rob” Gutierrez of Camarillo on the night of December 9, 2022, and all four have been held without bail since being arrested in January.

The cramped courtroom’s gallery was packed with family and friends of the accused, the defendants’ team of four defense attorneys, and the prosecution team, which is led by Senior Deputy District Attorney Tate McCallister. 

After deliberations over scheduling, all four attorneys agreed to continue the preliminary hearing dates for the four defendants to June 26 and 27.

During the brief appearance, defense attorney Neil Levinson, who represents Rosborough — the defendant facing the lesser of all charges as an “accessory after the fact” — unexpectedly motioned to take the scheduled bail hearing for his client off the table, without any indication as to his reasoning for the change. 

Rosborough, who notably had a separate court date on April 20 regarding his bail, has also asked the court several times for medical assistance for a hand injury that Levinson said would require surgery.

Defense attorney Andrea Keith, who is representing Moreno, has also been requesting that the court grant her client the ability to post bail. Keith argued that Moreno was only five days from his probation ending on the night of the incident and said there was extremely relevant ballistics, phone, and video evidence that would prove Moreno had less to do with the murder than his co-defendants. Without mentioning specifics, Keith indicated that Moreno had actually gotten into a confrontation with a co-defendant over Moreno’s denunciation of the events on December 9. 

However, McCallister argued that Moreno’s probationary status on the night of December 9 — which was a result of an assault with a deadly weapon charge — along with the violent nature of the crime and defendant’s gang affiliations, gives the state proper authority to restrict the opportunity for bail. 

Moreno will go through an interview and confirmation with the probation office before returning for his rescheduled bail hearing on June 27.