Hearing begins for Lodi man accused in fatal beating

A man who was killed in a Downtown Lodi parking lot this spring suffered 56 injuries, San Joaquin County's chief medical examiner testified Monday at a hearing for the murder suspect.

Part of the March 21 beating death of Neal Singer, 35, was witnessed by several nearby residents, two of whom testified that they saw the victim being kicked. One said she saw the suspect lift a large object over his head and use it to strike the victim.

That suspect, Juan Velazquez, 37, is now facing a murder charge, as well as special circumstances of lying in wait and robbery. He could face execution if convicted of all charges, though prosecutors have not yet said if they will seek the death penalty.

Velazquez sat silently in the courtroom Monday, listening to testimony with the assistance of a Spanish language interpreter.

The beating happened around 2 a.m. that March day, and Lodi resident Esteban Lopez Gutierrez testified that he awoke to the sound of someone crying, "Help. Someone help me."

Gutierrez, who lives in a five-residence apartment building in the 100 block of North Sacramento Street, went to the building's door that overlooks a parking lot and alley. He looked outside and saw a man kicking someone who was lying on the ground.

Gutierrez, who also testified through a Spanish language interpreter, said he yelled "Leave him alone" in English, then said, "I'm going to call the police."

The assailant replied, "Go ahead, call the police," Gutierrez said, later testifying that the suspect's English was perfect and did not have an accent.

Gutierrez looked straight ahead during his entire half hour of testimony, never once looking at the defendant. He testified that the alley was too dark for him to see the suspect, and that after he woke up a neighbor and the property manager, he went back to his residence.

The commotion woke Deborah Lerma, who also lives in the building and had been asleep for six hours. She heard Gutierrez telling someone to "Stop, leave him alone," and went to her window, which overlooks the alley.

Though Gutierrez said he couldn't see much, Lerma said she saw a man throw a rock. Then he picked up a large object, lifted it over his head with both hands and brought it down on the man lying on the ground, Lerma said.

She later identified Velazquez when police took her to Hale Park, where he had been detained. Lerma also identified him in court Monday, pointing at Velazquez when Deputy District Attorney Ted McGarvey asked if she saw the suspect in court.

At times Lerma grew frustrated Monday when Deputy Public Defender Chris Steiner asked more detailed questions. She had said she saw Velazquez through an object at the victim's head, but when Steiner pressed and asked if she actually saw it hit the man's head, she did not.

When Steiner asked about suspect's exact description, Lerma retorted that she wasn't paying a lot of attention because she didn't know if the man had a gun.

"I don't know, I'm not standing next to him taking measurements," she said when Steiner asked the man's height.

The injuries were detailed by Dr. Bennet Omalu, the county's chief medical examiner who has done extensive research on brains. Earlier this year he published a book about injuries sustained by football players and wrestlers who suffer repeated concussions.

In Singer's case, the man had a total of 56 wounds and had been beaten or kicked about 20 times, Omalu testified. The wounds included eight blows to the back of the head, a shoe print on his face and a blow to the forehead, likely caused by a shoe, that fractured his skull.

Blows to the head cause the brain to shake back and forth, also known as a concussion. Though he had some wounds on other parts of his body, they were not serious, and Singer died of "severe blunt force trauma" to the head, Omalu said.

Singer had no defensive or offensive wounds, Omalu said, which means that there was no sign of a fight. Singer's blood-alcohol content level was 0.28 percent, more than three times the legal driving limit, but that did not cause his death, Omalu testified.

The preliminary hearing continues today, after which Judge Charlotte Orcutt will rule if there is enough evidence to send the case to trial.

Also Monday, Orcutt issued a $50,000 warrant for a defense witness who did not appear in court.

Robert Collins, who pleaded guilty to using Singer's credit card within hours of his death, was convicted June 17 and sentenced to 65 days in jail. He has since been released from custody, but did not appear to testify Monday.

Collins' co-defendant, Tammi Delong, also pleaded guilty in June. She is serving two years in state prison, a longer sentence because she had a previous strike for the attempted arson of her parents' home.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.