Lawyers for a Santa Rosa man accused of gunning down a former Sonoma County corrections officer outside a downtown brew pub allege in court papers the officer had gang ties and was fired over his illegal possession of a gun.
In a motion to open the personnel records of Jack Romero, 33, lawyers for the suspect, Ryan Dietz, 29, point to testimony from a Santa Rosa police officer in an unrelated gang case that connects Romero to the Nortenos and alleges he carried a gun into a downtown nightclub.
Dietz's lawyer, Paul Lozada, said the results from an internal investigation into Romero could be useful in mounting a defense that someone else is responsible for Romero's June 30 slaying or that Dietz acted in self-defense.
"They still have to put Ryan Dietz at the scene of the crime," Lozada said outside a hearing Monday in which Dietz appeared in custody. "The evidence they have doesn't do that."
Prosecutor Jane Murray said outside court Romero's background has no relevance to the murder charge. She opposed a request from Dietz's lawyers to postpone a Nov. 2 preliminary hearing.
"It doesn't play into this case at all, from the People's perspective," Murray said.
Sheriff's officials have acknowledged that in 2008 Romero resigned his job of six years after an investigation but have declined to release any details.
Investigators contend that Dietz shot Romero after he discovered him in Third Street Ale Works with Garicka Rush, the mother of his three children.
Romero's family members described the relationship as platonic.
Police said say Dietz followed Romero outside and shot him multiple times. He was arrested the next day and has pleaded not guilty.
Rush is also charged with being an accessory for allegedly disposing of ammunition that matched bullets used in the shooting.
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