Court briefs

Adam Gabriel Garcia, 21, and Sergio Octavio Pena, 21, of San Jose have been in jail since shortly after the April 8, 2001 stabbing of Anthony Tolua. Garcia and Pena were scheduled to begin a jury trial this month but their attorneys asked for it to be continued. Attorneys Timothy Simon and Patrick Concannon said more analysis is needed for DNA tests on blood and other evidence from the crime scene.

Tolua was stabbed in the kitchen of a friend's home during a party she threw a party while her parents were out of town. After a vase was broken by partygoers, Tolua asked everyone to leave. Garcia and Pena began fighting with Tolua and stabbed him with a knife that was being used to cut limes for beer, witnesses told police.

Prosecutor Mark Boessenecker asked that the trial only be delayed until February but his request was denied.

Molestation suspect faces jury trial

A construction worker accused of fondling a developmentally disabled San Mateo girl in the Fiesta Gardens neighborhood will face a jury on the felony charges right before Thanksgiving.

Francisco Pedrasa Gomez, 21, of East Palo Alto is scheduled to begin a jury trial Nov. 25 on felony charges of kidnapping and sexual battery and the misdemeanor charges of false imprisonment and annoying or harassing a child.

Gomez was arrested July 26 after a 17-year-old girl told her mother that he lured her into a garage and fondled her. Gomez was working at a nearby house in the 1200 block of Lafayette Street.

The victim's mother contacted police but no neighbors reported seeing what happened.

If found guilty, Gomez faces 11 years in prison, with the kidnapping alone contributing eight of those years.

Gomez remains in custody at San Mateo County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.