A man suspected in a violent stabbing at a downtown restaurant postponed his preliminary hearing Friday in order to have more time to consider a plea offer from prosecutors.
Alexander Gomez-Enamorado is suspected of first-degree murder in the case. Prosecutors say he provided a knife used to fatally stab Miguel Angel Ventura in Nov. 2010. The man police believe wielded the knife is believed to have fled across the US-Mexico border.
The plea was not read into the court record Friday.
According to charging documents in the case, Gomez-Enamorado was arrested after being given an FBI polygraph test. In the test he said he and the other suspect, Jose Reyes, had planned to rob Ventura.
The charging documents claim that Gomez-Enamorado and Reyes were involved in a scheme in which people would receive money or food at the restaurant in exchange for sex.
Charging documents state,
[Gomez-Enamorado] stated that he was introduced to [Ventura] by other individuals from an outreach program. [Gomez-Enamorado] stated that he and others would go to the restaurant and receive money or food in exchange for sexual acts. [Gomez-Enamorado] said that on the night of the offense, he received a call from [Ventura], who asked him to bring a friend to the restaurant, and made arrangements to pick him and Reyes up. [Ventura] picked up Reyes and [Gomez-Enamorado] and brought the back to the restaurant. He said that while in the restaurant, [Ventura] performed oral sex with him and Reyes. He said that Reyes went to the employee’s bathroom and [Ventura] was in the adjacent kitchen area where it was dark. He then heard [Ventura] yell, saw Ventura coming toward him and saw Reyes push him to the floor and begin, stabbing, punching, and kicking the [Ventura].
Gomez-Enamorado is due back in court July 27.
Rebecca Zisser contributed to this report.
