An absent interpreter delayed the preliminary hearing for a man who stands accused of attempted murder.
Tomas Martinez Romero was slated to appear in court for his preliminary hearing Thursday morning. While the defense and prosecution were ready to go, the court didn't have a second Spanish interpreter to translate for several witnesses, Deputy District Attorney Patricia Henley said.
"We waited around all morning trying to get another interpreter," she said.
The interpreter assigned to the defendant was present but a second was needed to translate for the witnesses, several of whom do not speak English. The second interpreter was not available and the preliminary hearing was pushed back to 9 a.m. Oct. 9 in Department 92 at the South County Courthouse in San Martin.
On the night of March 27, 2007, Romero walked up to a car at Stoney Court Apartments in east Gilroy with five occupants and fired almost 10 rounds, injuring two people, police said.
Romero was originally arrested in connection with a grisly downtown stabbing - the city's only murder in 2007. However, the charges were dropped and he was released from custody. An illegal alien, Romero was almost deported but police removed him from a bus at the last moment to serve him with the new charges in late July 2007.
Sara Suddes Sara Suddes is the education reporter for South Valley Newspapers. Send her an email or (408) 847-7158.
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