A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge set a May 24 trial start date for the three Lompoc men charged with murder with a gang enhancement in connection with a stabbing last June.
Jesse Lara, 29, was stabbed to death on June 6, 2015, according to police. Damien Simpson, Dequan Matthews, and Edward Carter Jr. were subsequently arrested along with a 14-year-old juvenile, who testified against them.
The three men pled not guilty to the charges in October. They are scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on March 14 before the trial begins in May.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2016.