LAKEPORT — The preliminary hearing for a Kelseyville man accused of killing two people during a rollover crash last summer has been postponed to mid-February.
Jacobo Lopez Mejia, 24, faces two felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, two counts of driving under the influence causing bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of driving without a valid license.
Authorities allege he was behind the wheel of a Ford F-150 on Aug. 18 when he lost control of the truck, which then went off of Merritt Road and overturned several times.
Two passengers, Hector C. Perez and Florentino Leon Flores, died at the scene while the other four occupants, including Lopez Mejia, were transported to various hospitals.
Lopez Mejia pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case had been set for preliminary examination on Wednesday but both parties requested a continuance that day because key medical records and police reports were only recently obtained, prosecutor John Langan said.
Judge Richard C. Martin rescheduled the hearing for Feb. 16, according to Langan.
On Thursday morning, Martin continued the preliminary hearings of two unrelated cases.
The judge granted a defense request to delay for several weeks the hearing of a Kelseyville man facing a host of charges for alleged acts against his estranged wife last year.
Andrew J. Serrano, 39, remains in custody on $1 million bail and stands accused of a pattern of harassment against the woman from mid-spring until late summer.
The most serious charges stem from a September incident during which authorities claim Serrano beat his estranged wife and shot a man who was accompanying the woman as she retrieved belongings from a residence on Big Valley Road.
In all, Serrano faces 10 felonies, four misdemeanors and some special allegations for alleged episodes over a four-month period. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A preliminary examination had been set for next week, but Martin granted a defense continuance request Thursday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
The hearing will be assigned to a courtroom during a scheduling meeting on Feb. 2.
Earlier on Thursday, Martin postponed to an unspecified date the key pre-trial hearing in the embezzlement case against a former Elem Indian Colony bookkeeper.
Tracey I. Avila, 50, is charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing money and property between February 2006 and October 2008 while working for the tribe.
A preliminary examination had been set for next week but Avila”s defense counsel asked for a continuance because the prosecution still has documents to turn over.
Martin granted the request but did not set a hearing date. That will be scheduled during a court appearance Jan. 11.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
