2 Accused Killers Plead Not Guilty
A January trial date has been set for two Ventura teenagers charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old Moorpark college student.
Robert Don Imes and Vincent Ryan Gatica, both 19, pleaded not guilty Friday to murder charges contained in a September grand jury indictment.
Imes also pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder.
Robert Louis Bankston died on July 21 after being stabbed several times during a fight on the sidewalk of N. Laurel Street in Ventura.
His friend Joe Morgan was also stabbed, and seriously injured.
Imes’ attorney has said his client acted in self-defense after getting in a fight with Bankston and Morgan.
Gatica is charged as an accomplice, but sources say he became involved after seeing the other men brawling with his friend.
Their trial is set for Jan. 25, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for Nov. 19.
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