39° DNS FOG, 4th teen charged in Analy grad's killing
Donald Bittner arraigned on murder and assault charges, held without bail
Last Modified: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 9:00 p.m.
Nineteen-year-old Donald Blake Bittner stood in the courtroom early Wednesday as the judge explained he was charged with murder.
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Superior Court Judge Ken Gnoss asked the Santa Rosa teenager if he understood the court process. "Yes sir, I do," Bittner said quietly and clearly.
Bittner is one of four teens charged in connection with a brawl at a Santa Rosa party that left Benjamin Floriani, 21, dead with a stab wound to his heart and three others seriously injured.
Bittner was arraigned on the murder charge and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. He delayed entering a plea until Dec. 28, when he'll be returned to court with two other suspects in the killing of Floriani, an Analy High School graduate.
Floriani was killed early Saturday morning while attending a party at a home near West Ninth Street in Santa Rosa. The three young men injured also had attended Analy, school officials said.
The other suspects include Matthew Timothy O'Day, 19, and Alex Paul Hopper, 20, both of Santa Rosa and both charged with murder.
Noah Minuskin, 19, also of Santa Rosa, has been charged as an accessory to murder.
O'Day's younger brother, Rory O'Day, 18, was arrested as an accessory suspect, but prosecutors didn't charge him with a crime. He was released Tuesday evening from the Sonoma County Jail.
Police have not said what led to the violence. They continue to interview witnesses and piece together what happened, Sgt. Lisa Banayat said.
Bittner is being held without bail in the Sonoma County Jail. He was on probation for two prior convictions at the time of his arrest, so he also is being held without bail for felony probation violations.
Court records indicated he was convicted of felony burglary in November and was on three years' formal probation at the time of the slaying.
Bittner also was convicted in a felony vandalism case involving graffiti on state property dating to spring 2006.
You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412
or randi.rossmann@
pressdemocrat.com.
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