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• Jury finds Lodi resident not guilty of murder

• Four suspects arraigned in killing of Lodian

• Wal-Mart applies for Supercenter in Galt

• Water bill passed by House may help Woodbridge Dam

• Council votes against charging downtown business group collection fee, but will tax local hotels

• Regional Roundup

• Council denies claim in fatal Tokay High accident

• Lodians win ride in Wienermobile

• Local, county health officials postpone influenza shot clinics

• Local students learn electrical safety during 'Power Week'

• Logbook

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Four suspects arraigned in killing of Lodian

Four suspects accused in the weekend slaying of a Lodi teenager made their first court appearance Wednesday, where they did not enter pleas to the murder charges against them.

Though David Villanueva, 20, is accused of firing the rifle that killed 16-year-old Adrian Cortez, all four suspects are charged with murder.

Because the charges include special circumstances and allegations that a murder was committed during criminal street gang activity, both Villanueva and Martin Castro, also 20, could be sentenced to death if convicted.

The two other suspects are juveniles, so they would not be eligible for the death penalty.

However, Larry Villanueva, 16, and Orlando Delatore, 14, are both charged as adults and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder. Had the crime been committed only weeks earlier, the case against Delatore -- who turned 14 on Sept. 14 -- would have remained in juvenile court.

The four defendants did not speak Wednesday, listening as the charges were read against them. They were given court-appointed attorneys and will appear in Stockton court Tuesday, where they may enter pleas.

Several Lodi police detectives stayed in the back of the courtroom Wednesday, watching the audience that included a group of seven young men, including one with a gang tattoo on the back of his neck.

Across the aisle, the mother of David and Larry Villanueva cried quietly and leaned on her husband throughout the proceeding.

He had tears in his eyes when he said after court that he felt badly for Cortez's family.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry for all my kids (have) done. If my son did that, I want to say I'm sorry for the family," Francisco Villanueva said, his voice catching more than once.

The young men who had been seated across the aisle declined to comment after court. Among them was a man who testified at a January hearing in a separate Lodi homicide, also gang-related. In a separate case, he was shot in the back in September 2003.

Saturday's slaying was the first homicide in city limits since Luis Caracosa was gunned down in June 2003. That case, which is scheduled for trial in two weeks, is also believed to be gang-related.

Three of the four defendants in the current case are documented gang members, and police say that Cortez was also a gang member.

Police believe Cortez had gotten into an argument with one of the suspects, and that David Villanueva later went to his house in the 500 block of East Elm Street and opened fire.

"They were following a gang code," said Deputy District Attorney Ron Freitas, who prosecutes gang cases. "Four of the last five murders in Lodi were gang-related. It happens, even in this sleepy little farming community."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.