Man Accused of Fatal Stabbing In Spring Valley Will Be Tried In November

A man accused of fatally stabbing the man who defeated him in a fistfight three months earlier will go to trial on a murder charge in November, a judge ruled Monday.

Hector Ivan Romero Hernandez, 33, was also ordered by Superior Court Judge Allen Preckel to appear at a readiness conference on Oct. 18 at the East County Courthouse.

Hernandez is charged in the March 16 death of 30-year-old Roque Varela.

Hernandez allegedly went unannounced to a home in the 700 block of Sacramento Avenue in Spring Valley, at about 8:10 p.m. on the night of the killing and argued with the victim before stabbing him with a knife. Varela was visiting a friend that he and Romero had in common at the time of the stabbing, prosecutors said. Varela died in a hospital about a half-hour after the attack.

Romero was arrested about 5:50 a.m. the next day at a residence in the 3200 block of Central Avenue in Spring Valley. Witnesses testified during a preliminary hearing that the victim and the defendant had argued and fought three months earlier, when Romero told Varela to quiet down as the victim talked on his cell phone in front of Romero's home.

The two men did not know each other before the fight, which Varela won, said Deputy District Attorney Heather Trocha.

Romero faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted, Trocha said.

– City News Service