Trial date moved to April 22 for 2 charged in CDCR counselor’s slaying
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Defense counsel announced Tuesday they weren’t ready for the trial to start in the case of two men accused of killing a corrections counselor.
A new hearing date of April 22 was set, at which time Timothy Hennessy, representing Sebastian Parra, expects the trial he’s currently in will be at or near its end.
Deputy Public Defender Gordon Lake, representing Robert Pernell Roberts, told Judge Charles R. Brehmer he believes he’ll also be ready by then.
Roberts, 30, and Parra, 24, are charged with murder and attempted robbery in the death of Benny Alcala Jr., 43. Alcala was a counselor with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
On Aug. 24, 2022, Alcala was shot in the area of the Target on Stockdale Highway, where he’d been charging an electric vehicle.
According to Parra, Roberts tried to rob Alcala, whom he believed had money because he owned an electric vehicle. Parra, the prosecution’s key witness at Roberts’ preliminary hearing, said he’d only met Roberts that night and had nothing to do with the killing.
A grand jury later indicted Parra. Both men face life terms in prison if convicted.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.
