UPDATE: Arraignment Continued for Man Accused of Killing Stockton Fire Captain in January
STOCKTON (CBS SF) -- The 67-year-old man accused of killing Stockton fire Capt. Vidal "Max" Fortuna in January returned to court Monday morning and had his arraignment continued for a second time.
Robert Alston Somerville appeared in San Joaquin County Superior Court in Stockton wearing a red jail jumpsuit and was represented by public defender Allison Nobert who asked the judge to set a third arraignment for April because of outstanding discoveries in the case.
Somerville did not enter a plea. He remains in custody without bail.
Somerville was arrested in connection with Fortuna's death and in February, he was arraigned on murder and weapon charges, according to prosecutors.
On Jan. 31, Fortuna, 47, and firefighters from Engine 2 had responded at 4:45 a.m. to reports of a dumpster fire at 142 S. Aurora St.
When fire crews noticed that the blaze was beginning to impinge on a nearby business, they attempted to enter the building to extinguish the fire, and suddenly gunshots were heard, Stockton City Manager Harry Black said.
Fortuna, a 21-year veteran of the fire department, had been struck by gunfire and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Tre Somerville, the son of the suspect, said because their family business had encountered several break-ins his father believed another was occurring and was trying to defend himself.
"He was protecting his life," Tre Somerville said. "It was two people doing the same thing."
"They got a fireman trying to protect his life and they got my dad trying to protect his life," Tre Somerville said.
Tre Somerville said he has been able to visit his father in jail since he was arrested, and his father is holding up strong with his head held high.
Darius Williamson, a member of the Stockton Police Department's community advisory board, said two days after the shooting of the captain, he stayed at the Somervilles' business and alleges that four people tried to break into the building.
"I asked them who they were and what they were trying to do, and they asked me who I was and said if I did not open the door, they would come back with shotguns," Williamson said.
He said he is a longtime friend of both the Somerville and Fortuna families.
Somerville will return to court on April 25 for further arraignment.
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