A jury has convicted Hoopa resident Gearold “Roldo” Sotolongo of second-degree murder for the February 2016 killing of Roger Alan Yale, stabbed in the heart as the two men scuffled outside the mini-mart and gas station in Hoopa.
Jurors in the trial of murder suspect Gearold “Roldo” Sotolongo asked today for a read-back of part of Sotolongo’s testimony and also wanted to examine the stick that victim Roger Yale was carrying.
It was Roger Yale who started the fight that ended with his death, alleged murderer Gearold Sotolongo testified when he took the stand Tuesday in his own defense.
An eyewitness to the fatal knifing of Roger Yale testified yesterday she watched suspect Gearold Sotolongo make stabbing motions as the two men scuffled, then saw a puncture wound in Yale’s upper left chest.
Murder suspect Ryan Anthony Tanner is scheduled for a preliminary hearing next month on 10 felony counts involving a separate alleged victim who claims Tanner kidnapped him and assaulted him with various weapons.