A judge ruled Feb. 5 that two trials will take place in the 2011 murder of Jordan Hickey in National City. One is for the accused gunman and a second for the getaway driver.
There are several legal reasons for separate trials of the accused gunman Humberto Emanuel “Beto” Galvez, 22, and the driver, Juan Ignacio Gomez, 24, stemming from the death of Hickey, 21, who was shot three times in a drive-by shooting.
The District Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty against Galvez, and both defendants made statements about the other’s conduct that would require separate juries to consider, said prosecutor David Grapilon.
One defendant wrote a journal entry in which he admitted involvement in a “three rounds blasting” shooting. That entry could only be used against the person who wrote it and not the other. Each jury would hear about the conduct of each man. Presenting admissions about others may be inadmissible evidence.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeff Fraser made his ruling in a motion hearing and denied defense requests that the case be sent back to Chula Vista Superior Court. Gomez will go first, in a March 16 trial, which will be followed by Galvez’s trial on April 6.
Hickey was pushing his bicycle uphill in the 2800 block of Grove Street at 12:35 a.m. when the suspects drove past him and he was shot on April 29, 2011. He lived with his mother, Jeannine Hickey, in Lincoln Acres, an unincorporated area of National City, and was on his way home when he was shot.
Both men are charged with the special circumstance of murder during a drive-by shooting.
If Gomez is convicted of first-degree murder, he would face a life term without parole. Galvez is awaiting sentencing for beating an inmate in jail and his jury may be told details about that which doesn’t involve Gomez.
Galvez and Gomez lived in the same house on Logan Avenue until their arrests on March 22, 2012, in Chula Vista. They are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted robbery of Hickey and have pleaded not guilty.
Both men remain in jail on $2 million bail.
