VALLEJO - Trials could be finished by the end of 2009 for the two men charged with murder in the shooting death of Fairfield City Councilman Matt Garcia last September.
A judge on Monday set Nov. 12 as the trial start date for Henry D. Williams, whom investigators believe fired the fatal shot. Williams and his attorney were in Judge Robert Bowers' courtroom for a closed-door meeting with prosecutors and then a public hearing to set the trial date.
Later in the day, alleged accomplice Gene A. Combs stood in the same spot to hear his trial will follow Williams' date in court, possibly starting in early December. The two will be tried separately.
Several weeks are being set aside for each trial. The 'goal is to have this done by the end of this calendar year,' Bowers said.
Bowers said there will be a trial readiness conference for the defense and prosecution on Sept. 14.
Garcia's parents and other family members were in the audience for the hearings. Afterward, they said they had hoped for a trial as early as September but were comfortable with the longer process.
'We are determined to trust our judicial system,' said Raymond Courtemanche, Garcia's stepfather.
According to investigators, Combs and Williams were in Cordelia Villages on the night of Sept. 1, 2008, trying to locate a friend whom they believed had pocketed money Combs had given him for drugs.
According to testimony at the probable cause hearing, Garcia drove past the car the pair were in and Williams mistakenly thought Garcia was their friend. When Garcia got out of his car about 50 yards down the street, Williams fired several shots at him. One bullet struck Garcia in the back of the head.
Garcia, 22, was declared brain dead the next day at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. He remained on life support until his organs could be harvested for transplants.
Reach Ben Antonius at 427-6977 or bantonius@dailyrepublic.net.
