Man pleads innocent to attempted murder
A Williams man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, the Colusa County District Attorney's Office said.
Gayro Velazquez, 21, is charged with running down an Arbuckle man with his vehicle Nov. 7 in the Colusa County Fairgrounds parking lot.
Velazquez pleaded not guilty in Colusa Superior Court and a preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 17, authorities said.
Felix Silva, 19, was on life support at Sutter Memorial Hospital for nearly a week following the incident, but was discharged Sunday, authorities confirmed.
Velazquez surrendered to police the day after the reported incident and was formally charged Nov. 10 with two felony counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of street terrorism, as well as enhancements for causing great bodily injury and violent felony street terrorism, according to court records.
The incident was sparked when a verbal argument turned violent at a wedding reception and police were called to a reported fight involving up to 20 people, the California Highway Patrol said.
David Bates, chief deputy district attorney, said investigators now believe Velazquez is a member of the Sureño criminal street gang and the reported victims, Silva and Jesus Chavez, 31, of Colusa, are members of the rival Norteños.
Velazquez had reportedly been punched by Silva and Chavez while he was sitting in his car. When uniformed security officers appeared at the scene, Silva and Chavez fled on foot, the CHP reported.
Witnesses told police that Velazquez "accelerated his vehicle," narrowly missing Chavez, but striking Silva, the CHP report states.
Velazquez appeared in court Thursday, but did not enter a plea and said he planned to seek a private attorney, prosecutors said.
He remains in custody in Colusa County Jail in lieu of $275,000 bail.
Contact Rob Parsons at 934-6800 or rparsons@tcnpress.com.
