No dismissal in Toste case

<p>A Sonoma County judge on Tuesday declined to dismiss charges against five men accused in the Matthew Toste murder case.</p><p>Defense attorneys contended that the five defendants were not properly arraigned on charges in the high-profile slaying case of Toste, who was shot in a downtown Santa Rosa parking garage in December 2006.</p><p>The suspects are Joseph Kenneth Lopez Jr., 19; his father, Joseph Kenneth Lopez Sr., 39; a cousin, Raul Lopez-Granados, 20; Paul Whiterock, 28; and Nicholas Mejia, 30.</p><p>They were indicted in early June following a secret grand jury proceeding that bypassed the normal charging process and the resulting public preliminary hearing stage.</p><p>On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Lawrence "Gary" Antolini rejected defense arguments that the men were given only a truncated summary of charges in early June and did not receive a true copy of the indictment in its entirety until July. Names of several key witnesses also were withheld in the charging documents.</p><p>Defense attorneys said due process requires the accused person be properly advised of the charges against him, first and foremost to prepare his defense.</p><p>They said the charges should be dismissed and the case re-filed. Prosecutors however, argued that the defendants had waived their arraignment rights in earlier court proceedings.</p><p>Toste, a 32-year-old construction worker and single father of a young son, was shot twice in the chest as he and his date walked with another couple inside the Seventh Street city parking garage just after midnight Dec. 3, 2006. Witnesses told police the assailants made sexually provocative comments to the women and a confrontation ensued.</p><p>Toste was shot after defending his cousin, who had been grabbed on the buttocks, family members said. Toste apparently knocked out Lopez Sr. with a punch before he was shot, according to law enforcement sources. Lopez Jr. is named as the shooter.</p><p>All five are charged with Toste's murder and with being gang members, as well as conspiracy and sentencing enhancements that could lead to life terms in prison.</p><p>Defense attorneys also failed Tuesday to persuade the judge to dismiss a charge that attempts to show a gang enterprise among the five, based on a drug case involving Mejia. He was charged with possessing methamphetamine for sale in October 2006, two months before Toste's killing.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat</p><p>.com.</p>