From left, Larry Villanueva, 16, Orlando Delatore, 14, both of Lodi, Martin Castro, 20, of Modesto, and David Villanueva, of Lodi, listen to Judge Don F. Howard read the murder charges against them at their arraignment in Lodi Court on Wednesday. (Casey Freeman/News-Sentinel)

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.