By HOYT ELKINS

The Union Democrat

Three suspects charged in the slaying of an Angels Camp man and his son have been bound over for trial in Calaveras County Superior Court.

Witnesses in a preliminary hearing Thursday testified to weapons in the hands of the trio during a melee at an Angels Camp apartment complex.

The fight followed an earlier encounter at a downtown Sonora liquor store, according to Jose Francisco Sanchez Peralta, 21, who had been charged with murder early in the investigation. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of helping a fourth suspect escape and agreed to testify "truthfully" about the incident.

Assigned Judge John E. Schwartz ruled Thursday that there is probable cause to believe Alfonso Flores Cruz, 21, Juan Flores Torres, 44, and Delfino Flores Cruz, 28, were responsible for the stabbing deaths of Pablo Lopez Sr., 46, and his son, Pablo Lopez Jr., 24, June 5 in the parking lot of an apartment complex on the 600 block of Stanislaus Avenue in Angels Camp.

Peralta, who seated himself at an angle in the witness box and avoided eye contact with the defendants, testified that the seeds of the fatal encounter were planted earlier the same day in the parking lot of a liquor store at South Washington Street and Restano Way in Sonora when the younger Lopez allegedly made an insulting gesture with his middle finger as Peralta and others were driving by.

Juan "Diego" Flores Cruz, 24, a fourth suspect in the killing who is still at large, insisted that Peralta pull into the parking lot and confront the younger, according to Peralta's testimony.

A brief encounter ensued in the parking lot resulting in "Diego" Cruz suffering a black eye, Peralta said.

Peralta claims he and his companions drove to the Angels Camp apartment complex, followed by Lopez, his son and a man named "Ivan" who has not been charged in connection with the incident.

When the senior Lopez got out of the car, Alfonso Cruz pulled a weed trimmer out of the bed of his pickup truck, and joined Delfino Cruz and Torres in engaging him in a fight, according to Amelia Gonzales, who claims to have witnessed the beginning of the brawl from her apartment overlooking the parking lot.

Gonzales, 20, is the sister in law of Pablo Lopez Sr. and the aunt by marriage of Pablo Jr.

She said Delfino had a knife. Investigators say they found a bloodstained knife in Delfino's apartment in a child's toy box. They claim they also found blood stains and blood-spattered clothing in various locations in the apartment.

Neither Peralta nor Gonzales recalled seeing a knife in Torres' possession, but he allegedly told investigators he used a knife to defend himself during the scuffle and accidentally stabbed the younger Lopez in the chest when "someone fell on him." He ran from the scene at the end of the fight, and a knife discarded by him was found nearby along Highway 49, according to Angels Camp Police Detective David Scarborough.

Tire irons, screwdrivers and various metal objects were involved, according to witnesses, and Alfonso suffered a head wound.

Peralta testified that he drove "Diego" to Stockton after the fray, and that "Diego" said he was going to Mexico. He has not been captured.

Alfonso, Delfino and Torres will be arraigned Aug 11.

Contact Hoyt Elkins at helkins@uniondemo-crat.com or 736-4092.