At the reconsideration hearing held Friday in a San Jose courtroom, Ramon rejected pleas from the district attorney's office to give more weight to the allegations in the murder charges. He ultimately sided with public defense attorneys who argued that the defendants' lack of violent histories, as well as their local family ties and community contributions, did not make them imminent public dangers or flight risks.
But during his June sentencing hearing, Judge Kimberly Colwell called a private sidebar with the prosecuting and defense attorneys, then returned to the bench and announced the deal wouldn't be going through. I cannot agree to this because I don't believe it protects the public safety, Colwell said, according to a transcript of the hearing.
